Puppy Love
by waterlilylf
Summary: AU. 3x4 get together, beginning with Quatre taking his new puppy to the vet. Alternating Trowa/Quatre POV. Background 1x2, 5x6 COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I don't own any part of Gundam Wing and this is purely for fun and maybe a few reivews...

Author's Note - Thanks to Kaeru Shisho for proofing, and thanks to Wolfje for unwittingly inspiring this story, by suggesting Quatre would own a Cairn Terrier.

The llamas are, of course, for Snow...

Trowa's POV:

**Puppy Love: **

'So where's the big emergency?' I burst through the surgery doors, pulling on my white coat with one hand and simultaneously trying to shove my hair out of my eyes and drain my Starbucks coffee cup with the other.

Sunday morning is usually the quietest time of the week at the vets' practice but, from my sister's 'phone call, I'd expected the place to be knee-deep in injured animals.

Instead, my big sister was sitting leafing through the weekend supplements.

'Well, _there_ you are,' she said impatiently. 'It's about time. I called you nearly twenty minutes ago. I'm starting to run out of excuses for why I can't do it myself.'

'Do what? You dragged me in here at half nine on Sunday morning for what exactly!' I down at her. 'You said there was a major emergency and I was needed urgently.'

'Chill, Tro,' she soothed, smiling. 'Before you start yelling at me, why don't you take a look in the waiting room? And then tell me you're still pissed off.'

Oh, God.

She'd dragged me out of bed for - what? Another of her lame match-making efforts. Heaven help any kids she ever has; she'll be arranging marriages for them while they're still in nursery school.

Still frowning, I pushed open the door to the waiting room and peered out. The Cairn terrier puppy was adorable certainly, but nothing like as gorgeous as the blond guy whose lap she was sitting on.

'Cute, huh?'

'Sure.'

'I was talking about the puppy!' Cathy dug me in the ribs with one of her lethally sharp elbows. 'FYI, he's called Quatre Winner, he's gay, he's been single for nearly a year since he broke up with a guy who'd been two-timing him. Sound familiar?' She added pointedly.

'And how the hell do you know all that? I didn't think we asked for so much personal information from our clients.'

'His best friend owns the most accident-prone dog in the universe. Duo's in here every other week and Quatre usually comes with him.' She shrugged. 'I've heard them talking.'

'Duo? Guy with long hair and a hyperactive Border collie? He was in here on Wednesday.' Duo'd been very cute too, even if not exactly my type. Still, I'd only moved here a few weeks ago and I'd been tempted to ask him if he wanted go for a drink or something sometime. Unfortunately, before I could get that far, he'd started talking about his having the world's most perfect boyfriend so that had been that.

'Winner?' I said thoughtfully. 'He's not one of_ the_ Winners, is he?'

'Sort of. He is the only son, but his father disowned him when Quat wanted to study music instead of going to Harvard and taking over the business.'

'That's rough.' I commented. Impressive, too though. There aren't many people who'd turn down the chance to inherit one of the world's biggest corporations.

So he wasn't just cute; he was determined and independent and strong-minded as well. And he liked music. And dogs. And had at least one friend.

Hmmm.

Interesting.

'Anyway,' Cathy said briskly, 'he's just got Maggie and he's brought her in for her shots. I said I'd been called out for an hour so I'd be calling another vet in to take care of him.'

_Take care of him? Oh, I could do that. I would like to do that. I'd take really good care of him._

She gave me a sly, sidelong look. 'Unless you'd rather leave me to do it, so you can go back to bed.'

_Not unless I get to bring him with me!_

'Fine. I'll do it.'

OK, deep breath. Hair out of eyes. I've been told I can do this sweeping motion with my bangs that's quite attractive.

Wasted on him, though. He wasn't even looking up, all his attention focused on the little animal in his lap, letting her lick his fingers and playing with her ears.

God, I love people touching my ears.

_Lucky dog._

'Mr Winner? I'm Trowa Barton. If you'd like to come through to the surgery, I'll look after you.'

'Just Quatre, please.' He stood up, a few inches shorter than me, slender but fit-looking. Very nice actually. There was a cute little moment when he got the little dog's leash entangled in his legs, which were also very cute in faded blue denim, and then he was offering me his hand.

Which I didn't want to let go.

I didn't really want to stop looking into his eyes either; he was laughing at the his puppy and it was like looking at sunlight sparkling on a tropical ocean. Not that I've ever seen a tropical ocean or anything, but the way I'd imagined it would be.

I motioned him to go into one of the examination rooms ahead of me, giving me a chance to admire the puppy frisking around those legs, and those legs, and where they went…

'So what's her name?' I lifted the little terrier up on to the table and received a quick lick across my hand.

'Maggie.'

I found one of the forms for a new client and Quatre told me the necessary information, nodding gravely while I told him what inoculations she'd need.

'She'll need yearly boosters after that, but we'll send you out a reminder a couple of weeks in advance.'

'Oh, that would be great. I've never had a pet before so I'm not really sure what to do.'

'You'll be fine,' I assured him. _You _are _fine_.

'She's a little sweetie, aren't you Maggie? I think you made a good choice with her. Cairns are a lovely breed; very friendly and playful. You'll have lots of fun with her.'

_You could have lots of fun with me too. If you wanted._

'She was a birthday present actually. I just got her yesterday.'

'Wow. Nice present.'

_Any chance of you being my next birthday present? It's in two months' time._

Quatre looked a little uncertain. 'I suppose so. My friend Duo said a dog would be good company.'

_I could be even better company. Seriously. And I'm house trained. You can even put a collar on me if you like. And a little tag with your name and 'phone number._

Damn.

I was going to have to strangle that little voice, in case it actually managed to make it out of my brain and start giving orders to my tongue.

This was so stupid; I'd only just met him. There was no way I was ready to start any sort of relationship, and he probably wouldn't be interested anyway.

'Duo? I think I met him last week. He owns the crazy collie with the equally crazy name?'

'Shinigami? That's Duo. He said there was a new vet working here. You've just started, haven't you?'

'Two weeks ago,' I filed away Quatre's and Maggie's vital stats and moved to get the syringe. 'I qualified last year, but I've been working in South America for a year, volunteering at a llama sanctuary.'

'Really?' He gazed over at me, all adorably excited. 'I helped in an orphanage in Peru after my first year at university. It's where I met Duo actually. I was teaching and he was helping to build some new classrooms.'

Oh, my God. We just had so much in common. It's like it was meant to be.

'We'll have to get together and talk about it sometime.'

'That would be great,' he enthused happily.

_He liked me. Or else he was really good at pretending. _

'Oh!' He looked over at what I was what I was holding and gasped. 'That's so big, Trowa. Don't you have a smaller one?'

I glanced down at the needle, grabbing my inner thoughts firmly out of the gutter and drowning them in the sewer.

'I promise she won't feel a thing. It only takes a second.'

'I'm sorry,' He blushed delightfully, putting one hand over Maggie's eyes so she wouldn't see what I was about to do. 'I just really hate needles.'

Quatre tensed as I slid the needle under Maggie's skin and I slid my free hand over his, squeezing gently.

'All done.' He bent to kiss the top of her head, and I turned his palm over, running my fingers over it. Mostly soft, apart from a few Calluses from some sort of stringed instrument. Guitar? Violin?

'So have you any birthday plans for today?'

'Not really.' He shook his head, a little of the light fading from those beautiful eyes. Damn. Of course, he'd been disowned by his family. That had to hurt on your birthday. 'Some friends took me out to dinner last night, so I was just going to spend time with Maggie.'

I looked at the clock on the wall. 'It's nearly ten. If you don't have any other plans, I've heard of a really nice place on the beach that does brunch at the weekends. They have an outdoor patio so we could bring Maggie with us. Would you like that?'

'Oh, I'd love that,' he breathed, and then looked blushed at his own enthusiasm.

Or maybe it was the L word.

Or me leaning over to press my lips to his, making sure Maggie's eyes were carefully covered.


	2. Chapter 2

-1Note - Many thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, and especially to Kaeru Shisho, who convinced me it wasn't just a one-shot…

Quatre's POV;

**Chapter Two:**

This sort of thing never happens to me.

Duo gets hit on by strangers all the time; at least, he used to until he met Heero and now any potential hitters get blown away by a blast from the Yuy arsenal of lethal glares.

As for our other friend, Zechs, he only has to tilt his head so his cascade of white-gold hair falls over his shoulders just so, and he has people swooning all around him.

But this morning I got picked up at the vet's.

_By _the vet, to be exact.

I even got kissed.

Straight out of the blue.

OK, maybe it wasn't totally out of the blue. He's gorgeous. Blazingly intense green eyes, that fall of hair that's cinnamon mixed with chestnut and coppery tints when he stood under the fluorescent light in the surgery.

And he's also really nice. Do vets have bedside manners? He's got this really - soothing presence, somehow. Like nothing is going to faze him, like he'll always be able to cope. Something I could definitely get used to.

So when he asked me out, of course I said yes. I think I might have been a little bit too enthusiastic, in fact, and then I couldn't stop blushing.

I've never been very good at the playing-it-cool thing. My friend Zechs, now, he can play it cool all the way to the North Pole. I don't think Trowa minded, though, because the next thing, he was leaning over to kiss me.

He'd offered to drive me to the café, and then drop me back at the clinic, and it was tempting for a minute but … well, I'd just met him, and OK, he belonged to a caring profession and I knew his sister and everything, but it wasn't like I really knew him.

So, I started into a long, rambling explanation about why it was actually more convenient for me to drive myself, not wanting to offend him, and he just gave me an understanding little smile and said that was fine and he'd meet me there.

He walked me to my car and held the door open while I tucked Maggie into her travel basket, and gave her a treat for being so brave.

And now I'm driving to meet him.

Wow.

Not what I'd planned for this morning. On my birthday, I generally tend to hide away from the world. There isn't an awful lot of point in celebrating another year on the planet when your parents and most of your family refuse to acknowledge your existence.

I guess Duo was right when he said that having a dog would help me to meet new people. Thinking of my best friend reminds me I said I'd give him a call after the vet's appointment. Normally, I never use my cellphone while I'm driving, but today is obviously a day for breaking rules.

'Hi? Duo?'

'What?' Heero's voice growls down the 'phone. 'Oh, Quatre. Duo's in the shower; can I get him to call you back?'

'No, I'm not in the shower! I'm here. Hey, Quat, what are - Heero, stop molesting me. I'm on the 'phone.'

I can hear Heero muttering something about people walking around naked, and then Duo's back on the line.

'Happy birthday! I was just going to call you! Listen, I know you hate your birthday, and you said you just wanted to be alone and everything but I thought maybe you'd like to come over later and we could have a barbeque or something.'

'Oh, thanks Duo. I would have liked that but I've actually got arrangements to meet someone.'

'Who?' I can hear his voice sharpening.

Hah! Duo Maxwell thinks he can run my whole social calendar but he doesn't know everything, does he?

I can't help grinning idiotically into the 'phone as I say, 'Why don't you guess?'

He'll never guess.

'The Hot vet guy? It is, isn't it?'

'What?' I splutter. 'How the _hell_ did you know that?'

'I have my methods,' he says, trying to sound all mysterious, and then starts to laugh. 'You told me you were bringing Maggie for her shots this morning; I've already met that hot new guy they have working there.'

'You never told me that!'

'Didn't I? Must've slipped my mind. So you've got a date already? At ten-thirty? Way to go, Kitty Quat! See, I told you a puppy would do wonders for your social life. You have her less than a day and you've already got a date!'

'Duo, he just asked me to go to brunch with him. Brunch isn't a date. It's - it's cold cereal and scrambled eggs.'

'Brunch is _so_ a date, Quat! Pancakes and hot maple syrup and French toast with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!' He manages to draw the last word out…..creamily…

Oooh.

Trowa covered in whipped cream. And maybe a few sliced strawberries as a garnish in certain strategic places. And a little jug of warmed syrup on the side. Or honey. Honey's nice too. And it's very good for you.

See, there's a reason why it's illegal to talk on the 'phone while you're driving? Luckily, there's a roadside turnout coming up so I can pull over to finish the conversation.

'Oh, that'll be so cool when you two are a couple,' Duo waffles on. 'We'll be able to get free medical treatment for our dogs!'

'Duo! I'm not going out with him just for that.'

'Of course not; it'll just be a little side benefit. Vet bills are damn expensive. Just you wait and see; dating hot vet guy could save you a fortune! It's like the only reason I'm dating an architect is so he'll design my dream house. Ow! That was a joke, Heero!'

'Stop calling him Hot Vet Guy! He's called Trowa.'

Trowa Barton. Quatre and Trowa. Trowa and Quatre. Tro and Quat.

'Trowa,' my friend echoes down the 'phone. 'Oh, Trooooowaaaaa…Mmm, nice name for moaning in bed…. .'

'_Duo_!' That comes from both Heero and myself and then there's a loud yelp from Duo.

'Ow! That was a joke! Seriously, you two need to lighten up. Quat, why don't you bring him by later so we can interrogate him? And take care, OK? Heero, stop that already! I'm trying to have a proper conversation here! Listen, Quat, I'm being sexually assaulted so I'd better go. Tell Hot Vet Guy to treat you right or I'll send Heero over to glare at him.'

He hung up before I get a chance to tell him about the kiss, and I started the engine again.

_That _kiss.

Well. To be honest, it wasn't the hottest kiss I'd ever had. Maggie managed to give me more tongue when she licked my face this morning.

It was still pretty incredible though. Just the fact that it had happened at all.

Gentle with just the right amount of pressure and the faintest flick of tongue against my lips, hinting that he would have liked more, before he pulled back.

My mind had already taken off spinning on a million different carousels when he put his hand on mine. I was trying to work out whether it was a comforting, wholly professional gesture, or whether he thought I wouldn't be able to keep a firm enough hold on Maggie's neck for him to give her the injection.

And then he'd started caressing my palm with the fingers of one hand and then he'd asked me out. The hand-holding presumably wasn't all that Maggie-connected, then….

This is crazy, really, though, isn't it? It would be so much easier just to miss the turn to the ocean, which is just coming up, and go home.

On the other hand, maybe Duo was right when he said dating a vet would come in useful. We never had pets growing up; just security dogs to patrol the grounds. My father didn't want us to have any distractions from our studies, and my mother would have had a fit at the thought of puppies chewing her designer shoes, or making a mess on the oriental carpets.

Actually, I could do definitely with some advice on the whole housetraining thing. Until then, I'll really have to stop walking around barefoot.

OK, this is the turn off, and I'm signalling that I want to turn, and Maggie is standing up after her little nap and wagging her tail.

Maybe this isn't such a crazy thing to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Note - Many thanks to everyone for your lovely reviews.

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter Three:**

I didn't think he was actually going to show up at first.

Maybe I shouldn't have kissed him so soon, but he'd just looked so damn appealing with those blue eyes smiling into mine, and his pale skin all flushed and that mouth curving into a smile.

Great. I'd met the most heart-breakingly gorgeous guy on the entire planet and I'd ruined everything by rushing things.

I took another sip of coffee, feeling pretty stupid sitting by myself at a table laid for two. I'd been there early enough to get one of the best tables, overlooking the water. I'd told the waiter a friend would be joining me, so there was even a menu and a glass of water beside his place setting.

I couldn't have been more obviously stood up if I'd had a sign over my head.

I'd been waiting nearly thirty minutes and he'd left the clinic before me. Even if he'd taken the scenic route, or stopped to run an errand, or to let Maggie out of the car, he'd still had more than enough time to get there first.

Unless he'd had an accident or got lost or gone to the wrong place or just decided I was a psycho serial killer who'd chop him up into little pieces.

I should have given him my cellphone number.

'Trowa? Hi.'

God, I hadn't even noticed him coming up, and there he was, with the sunlight turning his blonde hair into a nimbus of shining light, and his eyes a perfect match for the water.

Stunning.

'Hey there!'

'I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to stop to make a 'phone call, and then I thought I should give Maggie a little run so she'd be tired and I didn't have your cellphone number. You must have thought I wasn't coming.'

_Oh, don't mention the 'c' word. Please. Way too much for my imagination to have to deal with right now. _

'It's OK,' I lied. 'I only just got here.'

'Oh, good,' he sat down, looking relieved, and Maggie frisked about my legs until I scooped her up into my lap.

_One day, I'll have your master right where you are, and he'll be squirming around just like that, and trying to stick his tongue up my nose. _

_OK, maybe not that last bit._

The waiter, who'd been totally ignoring me when I was by my pathetic, friendless self, immediately sashayed over, and there was a lot of flourishing of napkins, and reciting of the daily specials.

'My sister Cathy was telling me about this place; apparently they do really good French toast with fresh berries and ice-cream.'

I hadn't though that was a particularly inflammatory comment; I mean, food's always a safe conversation topic, isn't it? But Quatre blushed the brightest shade of scarlet and dived behind his menu.

'Quatre? Are you OK back there?'

'I'm fine,' he emerged, spluttering slightly. 'And yes, that's delicious. I come here sometimes myself at weekends if the weather's fine and it's one of my favourite dishes.'

_Oh, God, not that 'c' word, again. _

Too many, too-vivid images were jumping up and down, every one clamouring for attention and zooming straight from my head to all points south.

'Really? So what do you recommend?'

'Like your sister says, the French toast is really good, if you have a sweet tooth.' He gave me the most adorable, mischievous grin ever, and I had to shift discreetly in my chair, glad of the puppy and the giant menu and the table between us…..

The damn waiter was suddenly back, wanting our orders. Right. No tip for him. Although I'd have to give him something or Quatre would think I was really mean.

'I was actually wondering if I could ask your advice on something?'

'Sure.'

_Anything. Please. Just ask. I can advise. Maybe even give practical demonstrations. If that would be at all helpful._

'The thing is, I'm not quite sure how to go about training Maggie. She had a couple of little accidents last night.'

_Housetraining? _

_OK, anything but that._

_Is that why he came to meet me? Does he think this is some extra service the clinic offers? Oh, God, maybe it is._

'Sure,' I said again. Not the most romantic subject, possibly, but he needed my help. He was asking me to help him. That had to be good. 'I'd be happy to help if I can. Where did she sleep last night? In your kitchen?'

'Um, in my bedroom, actually.'

_Oh, please don't talk about your bedroom._

'I did have some training tips from the dog breeder and it said you shouldn't take a puppy into bed with you but she's so tiny and I felt terribly sorry for her being taken away from the rest of her family. I did try leaving her in the kitchen; I even looked up some sites on the internet for help and I gave her a hot water bottle like one of them said and she still wouldn't stop crying.'

_Well, if it were me, a hot water bottle wouldn't be any substitute either._

'So it just seemed easier to take her into bed with me.'

_Where in the bed, exactly?_

_On the pillow, next to your head? Or curled up in your arms? Or cuddled against your back?_

_Stop this now! _

Giving Quatre puppy-housetraining hints kept us talking until the waiter arrived back with our drinks; not the most romantic subject obviously, but it broke the ice nicely. God, but he was adorable, hanging on to every single word I was saying. He actually produced a little notebook and a pen and made notes on what I was saying about newspapers and litter trays and letting Maggie out last thing at night.

'I know this I'm being over the top about this,' he apologised, 'but I really want to do this properly.'

'You're doing great. It's a shame all pet-owners aren't as conscientious as you are. Maggie's a very lucky girl. To have you.'

_And damn, it's pretty pathetic for a grown man to be feeling jealous of something that would fit in the palm of his hand._

Quatre glowed at the few words of praise, looking pleased and surprised and embarrassed all at once. How the hell could someone like him not be blasé about receiving compliments?

_If you were mine, I'd shower you with compliments. I'd never stop telling you how perfect you are. _

'I saw a poster in the surgery advertisisng dog-training classes. Do you think it would be a good idea to sign up for those?'

'I think that would be a great idea,' I said emphatically, looking down at Maggie who was curled up on my knee, tired after her walk.. 'But maybe wait until she's a little bit older. I can help you a bit first if you want; she's a clever little dog and it shouldn't be too hard to teach her basic obedience. She'll need to learn to sit and stay when she's told and walk properly on the lead. '

_And I could even teach you a few of the more basic commands while I'm at it. Just simple things like how to lie down on command, and roll over and beg and come when I call your name._

_And to stay with me. _

_OK, focus, Barton. If you say this out loud, he'll run and you'll never see him again. Never. Take it slowly._

'Did you know you were getting a puppy yesterday or was it a total surprise?'

Quatre took a sip of his tea. 'Duo's been hinting all week that I wouldn't be living alone for much longer.' Another adorable blush. 'I thought he was trying to set me up with someone, though. We used to share a house until he moved out a few weeks ago; I'm still not really used to having the place to myself. I think he got tired of me complaining about being lonely without him.'

_Really? Would you like a roommate? _

'He seemed like a nice guy when he came into the clinic. And his dog's quite a character.'

'Duo's my best friend.' He paused while the waiter laid down our plates; toast for me; pancakes with syrup and a side order of whipped cream for him. 'He's only had Shinnie for a few months; he was a rescue dog and he needs huge amounts of attention.' He grinned. 'He hated Duo's new boyfriend at first, but now he's starting to get used to having two people to look after him.'

'That's Heero, right? Duo was talking about him in the surgery last week. Is he as perfect as Duo says?'

'Almost. He and Duo are definitely perfect together.'

'Ah. The whole soul mate thing?'

'Well, more like the attraction of opposites!' Quatre laughed, starting to cut up his pancakes and I just totally lost track of whatever else he was saying.

Watching him eat his pancakes was - mesmerising.

He dipped each little piece in syrup, making sure it was carefully coated, and then added a dab of cream. And he had the cutest habit of flicking his tongue around each corner of his mouth, to lap up any stray syrup, and at one point he dipped his little finger into the dish of cream and sucked it.

I could just imagine kissing him after he'd eaten all that. All sweet and sticky and syrupy.

'Would you like a taste?'

_Oh, sweet Heaven, yes._

_I'd want to taste you even if you were eating garlic-flavoured anchovies._

I managed to answer something vaguely coherent, and he proffered me a nice little piece on his fork, all carefully covered with syrup and cream.'

I was probably meant to the fork for myself; instead I leaned over the table, and opened my mouth for him to feed me. It was delicious, almost as good as watching his eyes widen at what I'd done.

'You do have a sweet tooth, don't you?' OK, he wasn't embarrassed; in fact, he was giving me an impish little grin.

'May I taste yours now?'

………..

'Absolutely.' I carefully selected the biggest, reddest strawberry, and added it to a square of toast and topped it with enough cream that he'd have to open his mouth really wide for the whole spoonful to fit.

'That good?' I asked, watching him lick his lips.

'Oh, _yes_,' he breathed softly.

Damn, I wanted to kiss him so badly. We had a table at one corner of the terrace; all the adjoining tables were empty still and the waiter was busy down at the far end.

No one to see if we stole a moment to ourselves.

'May I kiss you again? Please, Quatre?'

His only answer was to bend forwards toward me, head tilted slightly. I shifted the sleeping puppy slightly, holding her in place with one hand, so I could reach out and slide one arm around his neck and bring him closer. His mouth opened under mine, tasting of hot tea and syrup, strawberries and sunlight, and then he was kissing me back, and all thought just stopped.


	4. Chapter 4

Note - thanks to KS for editing.

Quatre's POV

**Chapter 4:**

Kissing Trowa properly was like dissolving into strawberry-scented bliss. I wanted it to go on for ever.

It's Trowa who pulls back, giving me a faint, regretful smile as our waiter shows a couple to the table beside us.

Oh. It's not always the best idea; kissing in public. The girl is concentrating very hard on the view over the sea, and her boyfriend shoots us a manly, disapproving glare.

I drop my gaze to my food and concentrate very hard on neatly cutting up my last pancake, trying to look casual and willing my blush to disappear. Maggie, who'd jumped over to my lap, quite unnoticed, during the kiss, pokes her nose against my hand and I break her off a little piece without thinking. She gulps it down happily, and then curls her tongue around my fingers, licking up stray crumbs. When I look up, Trowa is watching and I realise I'm breaking all the rules by feeding her tidbits.

'I shouldn't be doing this, should I? The books all say you shouldn't feed them at the table.'

Trowa smiles over at me. 'You probably don't want to encourage her to beg for food, but actually it's quite a good idea to hand-feed small puppies at the start. It helps them to bond with the person feeding them, and associate their scent with food and comfort.'

Hand-feeding. Gosh. I could quite happily feed Trowa by hand to help us bond. Well, it's best not to think about that sort of thing. I take a long swallow of iced water, hoping it will cool down my imagination, and stop thinking about Trowa's lips brushing against my skin, or sucking syrup from my fingers or …anything like that.

'Quatre?' Trowa is looking at me rather oddly. Glancing quickly around to check no one is paying any attention to us - the straight guy is practically devouring his girlfriend alive, but of course, that's allowed - he leans across the table to take my hand. 'Is everything all right? Am I moving too fast for you? The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable.'

'No,' I shake my head quickly, needing to reassure him. 'I'm just - not terribly comfortable with the whole public display thing.'

He gives my hand a gentle squeeze and then lets me go. 'That's OK.'

Drat. I really hope he didn't take that to mean that I'll be ready for rampant sex the moment we have some privacy.

'The thing is…' I clear my throat, not quite sure if this is the best time to say this, 'my last relationship ended badly, and I haven't been out with anyone properly since then, and I'd just rather not rush into anything.'

Well, that's probably ruined any chance I ever had with him. Just as he starts to say something, my 'phone rings.

'Would you mind if I answered that?'

It's probably Duo; if I don't pick up, he'll just keep calling. If I switch off, he'll call the café and claim he was worried about me not answering.

It's not Duo; it's Zechs.

'_Bonjour, cheri,_' he says suavely, just to remind me that he's in Paris for the weekend. 'How is everything?'

'Fine.' I give Trowa an apologetic little smile, and hand him Maggie as I stand up and walk away from the table.

'Really? That bad? I was talking to Duo earlier; I understand you've got a new love in your life.'

Typical Duo. He's my best friend, but he can't keep a secret to save his life. Not that it's a secret, not that there's anything to keep secret, but it would be nice not to have him broadcasting my personal life.

'Duo's exaggerating, as usual,' I tell him coolly. 'I've only just met Trowa and he's being very helpful with my new puppy.'

'Who's Trowa?' Zechs wonders. 'Duo was talking about someone called Maggie.'

'Oh!' It takes about thirty seconds to realise he's sending me up. 'Very funny, Peacecraft. You and Duo are utterly hilarious.'

'Aren't we, though?' he agrees happily. 'Well, Duo was telling me about the puppy and he just happened to mention the cute vet. Do you like him?'

'I think so, ' I tell him, glancing over at Trowa who's taken Maggie on his lap and is letting her play with his bangs. It's not fair that she's getting all the fun; I've been longing to touch his hair. 'But I've only just met him and I'm not going to rush into anything.'

'Good,' he says decisively. 'Anyway, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and to invite you for lunch next Sunday. You can bring the cute vet and we'll check him out.'

'I'd love to go. I'll think about asking Trowa.'

'We'll have to meet him sometime. Might as well get it over with.' His voice becomes more serious. 'I just wanted to check everything's all right with you.'

'It is. Truly,' I say, meaning it, knowing exactly what he's talking about. This time last year, Simon and I had just split up. I'd spent my birthday in bed, hiding under my duvet. Actually, I'd spent days in bed; Duo and Zechs had physically dragged me out in the end, and forced me back to the real world.

When I get back to the table, Trowa's already paid, and only laughs when I say I'd wanted to pay, to thank him for all his help.

'You can get it next time,' He hesitates. 'I don't know if you have any plans for the rest of the day, but I'd really like to spend some more time with you.'

'I'd love that. I did tell Duo I'd call by his house later, but I have a couple of hours before that.'

'Good,' Trowa stands up, handing me Maggie's lead. 'We could take a walk on the beach, if you'd like that.'

'Oh, I'd love it,' I beam up at him. I love walking by the sea, and he'd definitely implied he wanted to see me again. Hadn't he?

Trowa gives us our first walking-to-heel lesson once we get down on to the sand. I'm far better at it than Maggie is; she wants to chase the seagulls, the waves, other dogs, the shadow of a kite overhead, whereas I'm utterly content to walk alongside Trowa. Apparently, dog training necessitates quite a lot of necessary contact, as he shows me the correct way to hold the leash, and just how long it should be.

He's incredibly patient, and only laughs when she starts to pounce on his shoelaces, and twirl around the lead, trying to bite it. After a while, she starts to walk obediently at my heels, but I think it's more because she's tired out than anything else.

'Want to sit down for a bit?' Trowa asks, and on cue Maggie collapses on to the sand, exhausted from all the activity.

'I'm not surprised she's tired.' I sink down beside her and pull her onto my lap. 'I don't think she slept at all last night; every time I dozed off I woke up to her licking my face and wanting to play.'

'I don't blame her,' Trowa says softly and then it's his turn to blush. 'God, Quatre, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud.'


	5. Chapter 5

Note - Many thanks to KS for editing - sorry, but I decided not to go with your suggested final sentence! (This isn't ALG after all….)

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 5:**

Shit. I couldn't believe I'd actually said that out loud. This is the problem with having thoughts; they start bouncing and swirling around in your head and sooner or later some of them start to leak out, when you're not paying proper attention.

Quatre was going to be furious, wasn't he? I'd blown it for sure; he didn't even look at me while I stammered an apology, looking straight out over the water until I'd stuttered my way to silence.

'Did you mean that?'

Fuck. I couldn't lie to him; not with those cornflower-blue eyes gazing into mine and what could I have said anyway? That I'd been joking and didn't actually fancy him; that I was really straight; that he'd misinterpreted a totally innocent comment.

Instead, I nodded, letting my bangs fall over my eyes.

'Look, I wouldn't be human if I didn't feel some attraction towards you, and I know we've just met, and I appreciate you wanting to take things slowly and that's fine, but I can't help thinking you're totally gorgeous. Just so you know.'

'Oh.' God, I could have quite happily tumbled into his eyes and wallowed around for days in his smile. 'I really like you too. It's just - I've only known you for a couple of hours, we don't know anything about each other.'

'Well, that's easily remedied.' I let myself fall back onto the warm, velvety-soft sand, and propped myself up one elbow so I could look at him. He _was_ gorgeous. I couldn't help wondering if his skin was that flawless alabaster all over; what his hair would feel like if ran my fingers through it, where he was most sensitive…

_OK, stop that now, Barton._

'Imagine we've just met. Tell me something about yourself?'

Quatre laughed. 'I'm not very good at meeting new people. I never know what to say.'

'Just tell me ten things about yourself. Quick. Don't even think about it.'

'OK,' he took a deep breath. 'I'm twenty-four, as of 3.30 this morning; I studied music at university and now I teach at the Sanq Academy.'

'What instrument do you play?' I interrupted.

'I like the violin best, but I do play the piano as well, and I sing a little bit.'

'Cool! I play the flute.'

'Really?' He flicks me one of those excited glances. 'Maybe we could play together sometime?' He blushed, realising just what he'd said. 'Oh!'

'Now, you're doing it,' I teased him, laughing. 'OK, that's four things to start. 'What else?'

'Um, I'm addicted to tea, I love really spicy food, I go to the movies a lot with my friend Duo, I go skiing in Winter with my friend Zechs, my favourite colour is blue - how many is that? Nine? - and I…..have a new puppy.'

'That one doesn't count. I knew it already.'

'Oh. Well then, I love doing Sudoku puzzles. Is that all right?'

_And you're seriously cute. And apparently don't have a clue about it._

Interesting that he'd mentioned his friends, but he hadn't said a word about his family though.

'I've never been skiing, but I'm always willing to try new things; I'm not crazy about tea, so I'll never steal your drinks; I love spicy food as well; I prefer cryptic crosswords, which means we can divide up the puzzle page between us; and I quite like the colour blue. I think we could possibly be compatible.'

'Your turn now.'

'Right. Let's see. I'm a caffeine addict, I love the colour red and I have a cat called Leo.'

'What's he like?' Quatre wondered.

'He looks like a miniature black panther, and he acts like one most of the time; he's not very happy at the moment. We're staying with Cathy until I get my own place, and she's got three big dogs who keep trying to chase him. He's taken up permanent residence on top of my wardrobe. Right, what else? I like bitter chocolate with off-the-chart cocoa content. Not good?' I asked as he grimaced.

'Not really,' Quatre shakes his head sorrowfully. 'I like handmade truffles, or anything with caramel.'

_Oh. That was a thought. Warmed caramel spread all over his body, just begging to be licked off…_

'Excellent. We'll never fight over stealing each other's sweets.'

'That's only four. What else?' Quatre's eyes started to sparkle, enjoying the game. 'Did you always want to be a vet?'

'I always wanted to work with animals. I grew up in a circus until I was twelve, so I've always been around animals.'

'A circus?' Those glorious blue eyes widened with excitement. 'Seriously? I've never been to a circus?'

'Never?' I asked incredulously.

He shook his head, a slight breeze ruffling that neatly-brushed blond hair.

_God, he'd look adorable lying on black silk sheets, with that golden hair all dishevelled and tousled._

'My parents disapproved,' he told me tightly. 'Far too frivolous, as well as attracting undesirable characters. So, anyway, tell me about growing up.'

'My mother was a trapeze-artist and she also kept dogs; she met my Dad when the circus came to Sanq and one of the dogs got sick. Dad was a vet and they fell for each other. He was a widower with a baby girl, my half-sister Cathy. I used to spend my holidays with them, but the circus was really my life.' I shrugged.

'Anyway, my mother died when I was twelve, and I came to live here full time. I hated it at first, kept running off back to the circus, and then Dad started involving me in his job and I realised I loved helping animals. It got easier after that.'

'And your mother never wanted to settle down with him?' Quatre asked and then bit his lip. 'Sorry, I shouldn't be asking you personal questions.'

_Oh, you can ask me anything you like. Really. Personal is absolutely fine._

'It's OK. No, she did try staying with him for a while after I was born, but she missed the travelling and the excitement. It was never going to work out long term, but they did stay friends for years.' I grinned over at him. 'If you're interested, I think the circus is booked to visit Sanq next month. Would you fancy going?'

'Oh, absolutely! I'd love to.'

God, he was utterly perfect, wasn't he? So enthusiastic and warm and interested and full of life.

'Great. Let's see. That's five things. I love reading, thrillers mostly; I'm not a bad cook and I guess my main hobby is photography. How am I doing so far?'

Quatre grinned. 'Not bad, actually. I love the idea of the circus! I like cats; I drink coffee occasionally; I own a red sweater; I do like reading but I never seem to have enough time, and I'm an utterly hopeless cook. What sort of photographs do you take?'

_You hopefully. Naked and sprawled on my bed._

_Shit. _

_I hadn't said that aloud, had I?_

'Ah, nature mostly. I've had a few pictures published in different wildlife magazines.'

'Wow.' He was gazing at me like I'd done something totally amazing.

_Oh, I really wanted him to keep on looking at me like that…_

'I think you still have a couple more to go?'

'Right. Well, the thing is, I've just met this seriously cute guy called Quatre, and I'm really hoping he'll let me take me take him out to dinner next week. Do you think that might be possible?'


	6. Chapter 6

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 6:**

As usual, I'm attacked as soon as Duo opens his front door; Shinigami explodes outside, body-slamming me against the door frame. Duo looks on indulgently as his dog leaps up and down, swiping his tongue across my face and trying to reach Maggie.

'Aw, that's cute. He's been missing his mommy.'

'I'm not that creature's mother!' I manage to get a stranglehold on Shinnie's collar with one hand and make him sit down, holding Maggie away from him with the other. 'And he saw me last night.'

'He's a dog, Quat,' Duo explains carefully, giving me a quick hug and then taking Maggie from me, laughing when she squirms happily in his arms, and tries to lick the tip of his nose. 'He doesn't understand about time, do you, Shin? And how's my little princess then? Who's the most beautiful girl in the world?'

'Isn't she gorgeous?' I lean over to stroke her, and Shin chooses the perfect moment to make a break for freedom; he's the world's only collie/kangaroo hybrid and he dashes upstairs in a couple of bounds. 'I thought Heero was taking Shinnie to obedience training.'

'Yeah,' Duo says unconcernedly, putting Maggie down and letting her frisk her way down the hallway after him. 'He's very good when Heero's around. But he does miss you. We both do.'

'You know you can move back any time,' I offer, following him into the kitchen. 'Your room's still empty.' I know it's not going to happen; he's blissfully happy with Heero but the house still seems so empty since they moved out.

Duo grins. 'Tempting, but living with Heero does have some side benefits. Plus a few top and bottom benefits as well.'

'Duo!'

'What? It's true! And he's doesn't hassle me nearly as much as you did about tidying up all the time.'

I'd been to Heero's house a few times before Duo officially moved in; back then, his kitchen had looked like an operating theatre, albeit one designed and equipped by NASA. Now, the refrigerator door is plastered with photographs, Shinnie's toys are all over the floor, and there are several layers of Duo-inspired cluttered on the table.

'I can't believe he lets you mess up the place like this.'

'It's good for him to learn to put up with it,' Duo comments airily, sweeping a pile of books off a chair so I can sit down, and switching on the kettle. 'I'm determined to cure that obsessive cleanliness of his.'

'Oh? So you're only messy as a form of therapy for your boyfriend?' I tease and he laughs along with me.

'Something like that. He's even stopped complaining about hair in the shower.'

'You're joking!' When we shared a house, most of our rows were about Duo's hair. A couple of mornings, I'd even dumped a sodden lump of soapy hairs down his shirt, but nothing worked.

Duo grins. 'Nope. The first time he complained, I said the easiest thing would be for me just to cut it all off and that was the end of that. The man has such a hair fetish.' He pulls his braid over one shoulder and regards it complacently.

'You're evil, Maxwell. Where is Heero anyway?'

'Upstairs, communing with his brand-new laptop.' Duo rolls his eyes. 'I think it's true love this time. He'll be down in a bit. Now,' he hands me a cup of tea, and sits opposite me. 'Tell me all about the hot vet. Have you kissed him?'

'I'm not telling you that.' Drat. I can feel myself going red as I speak.

'Hah! That means you did. More than kissing?'

'No! Of course not. We were in a restaurant! And then we went for a walk on the beach and there were lots of other people around.'

'So?' He waggles his eyebrows suggestively. 'He didn't sweep you off to his place to have his wicked way with you?'

That makes me laugh. 'He's been staying with his sister for a couple of weeks, and he's going to start looking for an apartment tomorrow.'

'Really?' Duo's gaze turn speculative. 'And you've got an empty room? Wouldn't you like a nice roommate to help pay the bills?'

'Um.' I take a sip of tea and try not to look at him. It had - briefly - occurred to me. 'I don't think so. Not this soon. We've only just met and I don't want to rush things that much.'

'I suppose you're right. You do like him though?'

I nod emphatically. 'Oh yes.' I hadn't really meant to say that so soon. 'I do; it's just….you know.'

'Yeah, but he's not Simon. He seems like a really nice guy; you should give him a chance. When are you seeing him again?'

'On Thursday. We're going for dinner.'

'Not 'til then? That's weeks away!'

'Four days, actually.' As I say it, I realise just how far away that is. Still, we did say we might try to meet up for a drink if we both have some free time during the day. 'He's working tomorrow, I'm meeting Dorothy on Tuesday and I'm going to the movies with you on Wednesday.'

'Well, we could skip it this week, if you'd rather see Hot Vet Guy.'

'He's called Trowa, and no, I can wait a couple of days.'

'That's so cute; you're all defensive of him.' He considers for a moment. 'What are you meeting the wicked witch of the west for?'

'Because she's my friend!' I say, just a shade too defensively.

I've known Dorothy Catalonia since we were children. We dated a couple of disastrous times when we were teenagers, simply because our parents fixed us up, and to be honest, we don't exactly have very much in common, but she's always been supportive and loyal. She's also friendly with two of my sisters, so she passes on family news. 'You've got female friends; I don't complain when you spend time with Hilde, do I?'

'Yeah, well; Hilde doesn't want to date me.'

'Nor does Dorothy. Come on, Duo; she's perfectly aware I'm gay.'

'And she's perfectly aware that you're a Winner, and she'd like that sort of luxury lifestyle your money could buy.'

'What money?' I wonder. 'You make way more that I do. My family cut me off, remember?'

Duo shrugs. 'So? I bet they'd take you back in a shot, if you started going out with a girl. Plus, she'd probably knows about the trust fund your grandmother set up for you, and that she's likely to leave you everything. That's not exactly small change.'

'That's nonsense. She's a nice girl and I happen to like her. And she was really sweet to me when Simon and I broke up.'

'Sure, probably hoping to get you on the rebound. And stop glaring at me like that. None of your other friends like her; not even Relena and she likes everybody. And Zechs _really_ doesn't like her.'

'Zechs didn't like Heero very much when they first met,' I remind him, and it's his turn to sound defensive.

'That was different. Anyway, let's go outside; I finished the bench this morning and I want to show you.'

'It's amazing.' I say sincerely; Duo started working on this project a couple of weeks ago, and I've seen it as a work-in-progress a couple of times, but the finished product is stunning. The actual design is very simple but it's decorated with masses of intricate carvings. 'I can't believe you and Heero did this by yourselves.'

'Yep,' Duo runs a finger along the gleaming wood proudly. 'Design by Yuy; practical work by Maxwell. I added a few little touches of my own, though. Listen, I know I said we'd do a barbeque, but we didn't get to go shopping this morning. D'you mind if we just order something? I'll get the menus.'

While he's gone I find their initials entwined between all the Celtic knot work, and a sequence of eight numbers.

'What's the date for?' I ask when he comes back. 'The first time you went out together?'

'The day we met,' He hands me a sheaf of restaurant fliers. 'I thought it would be nice to include that. Now, what do you fancy? Do you mind if we don't get Thai? Heero's not crazy about chilies.'

'Indian's fine. What's he doing upstairs anyway? He not working on a Sunday, is he?'

Duo nods, grinning mischievously. 'Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. We both skived off work on Friday; he called Howard and said he wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with me, but he thought I should spend the day in bed.'

'With him, I take it? Very subtle,' I comment and Duo laughs.

'Well, Howard was laughing when he rang later on. It's quiet right now anyway; I could have just asked for the day off but it was more fun that way. Anyway, 'Ro has some things he needs to catch up on so he's trying to get it done now.' He reaches over to look at the Indian menu. 'I could order him Prawn Balti, not that he needs to eat shellfish or anything; he likes that, and maybe some Nan breads.'

'That sounds good.' I lean back against the sun-warmed wood, and can't help a little stab of envy. I want what they have; a boyfriend who'll drag me back to bed on a workday, or deliberate over my favourite foods.

I can't help wondering how good Trowa is at carpentry.

'Yeah. What are you having; that chicken thing as usual?' Duo kicks off his shoes, and tucks his legs up on the seat; Maggie, who adores human skin, immediately pounces on his bare toes with her tongue.

'Maggie! Ow, that tickles. Quat, your dog has a foot fetish! Stop, princess; that's Heero's job.'

'What's Heero's job?' Heero asks, wandering outside with Shinigami at his side, the picture of a perfectly-trained dog.

'Sucking my toes.' Duo grins as Heero bends down to kiss him.

'And all the other parts of you. Hello, Quatre. How did you get on with the Hot Vet Guy?'

'He's called Trowa,' I say, grinning goofily. 'And I got on wonderfully. He's intelligent and kind and funny and he's actually done voluntary work with orphaned llamas in Chile.'

'Excellent,' Heero says, totally straight-faced. 'I always think that llama-based work should be the first criterion for choosing a partner.' He nudges Duo. 'Haven't you ordered food yet? I'm starving.'

'You'll steal my seat, if I get up.'

'Possibly,' Heero admits, 'but then you can sit on my lap.'

'Good point,' Duo gets up, pinching Heero's butt as he walks past. 'Back in a sec.'

Heero sits down beside me and gives Maggie his hand to sniff. 'How are you coping with her? I thought we should ask you first if you wanted a dog, but you know what Duo's like when he gets an idea into his head.'

'It's OK,' I pull one of Maggie's ears gently, and she turns her head to look at me. In all honesty, if they'd asked me first, I would have come up with a hundred reasons why it wasn't practical for me to have such a demanding pet, but now I can't remember any of them.

And I wouldn't have met Trowa.

'Good.' Heero's expression, which is usually on the stern side of impassive, softens as he looks down at Maggie. 'You know, I should come over and adjust your security system, before she sets it off inadvertently.'

I nod. 'You can come over any time, you know that.' Heero set up my house alarm shortly after he met Duo. We'd had an attempted break-in, and he installed an insanely complicated security system, as a convenient excuse to spend time with Duo.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how it works. For an architect, Heero possesses vast amounts of esoteric information about surveillance and security; his step-father runs one of the biggest security firms in the country, and before that he worked for some sort of shadowy government agency, doing some sort of classified, top-secret assignments. I'm not supposed to know that bit, actually, but Duo and I tell each other everything.

He even tells me things I'd prefer not to know. It can be a little difficult to look Heero in the eye, sometimes.

'Fine. It won't take long; I'll just need to calculate Maggie's body mass index, and probable weight gain over the next few months and modify the lasers not to react to her.'

'_Lasers_? You put lasers in my house?'

'They're a perfectly standard piece of equipment in all modern security systems,' Heero informs me calmly.

'In museums and casinos and the Royal Mint, maybe! What if I'd set them off by accident?'

'You're overreacting, Quatre. There's absolutely no danger, provided you have the alarms set correctly.' Heero throws me a quizzical glance.

Oh. Oh dear. On the bright side, I suppose I've been doing something right since I've never been blasted or burnt or skewered or whatever it is that lasers do. It might be an idea to flick through the manual again, though, just in case.

'Now,' Heero says briskly, 'about this vet. How much do you actually know about him?'

'Not a lot,' I admit. 'but we did talk for a couple of hours this afternoon. You haven't met him, have you?'

'Not yet.' He gives Shinnie, stretched out blissfully on his feet, a speculative look, and I imagine they'll be visiting the veterinary surgery fairly soon, on some pretext or other. 'So basically you know nothing about this person. Hmmm.'

'Hmmm what? Heero, he's a vet. He helps sick animals. I like him. Maggie likes him. He's a nice guy.'

'Possibly,' Heero concedes. 'But the fact remains he's a stranger. It might be a good idea to look at his police record. And possibly run a credit check.'

'No! That would be like spying on him. I'm not doing something like that.'

'It's just an elementary precaution,' Heero tells me.

'And I'm not doing it,' I say firmly, wishing Duo would come back and rescue me. How long can it take to order a meal? Of course, in Duo's case, he's probably sharing life stories with whoever took his order. It's not that I don't like Heero; he's intelligent and kind and loyal and he adores Duo, but he still scares me sometimes when he goes all over-protective. 'I'm sorry, but no. I refuse to do something like that.'

'Honestly, 'Ro,' Duo chooses that moment to whirl back outside, scooping Maggie into his arms, and sliding onto his boyfriend's lap. 'I keep telling you to stop propositioning Quat. He's not interested in you.' He winks at me. ''Specially not now he's got the cute vet, right, Quat?'

Heero ignores this. 'I'm trying to convince Quatre to conduct some elementary checks on the vet. You talk to him.'

'Sheesh, Heero!' Duo rolls his eyes. 'Trowa's OK. Shinnie liked him, and he spent the last year doing work with orphaned camels or something.'

'Llamas, actually.'

'Whatever.' Duo takes a handful of Heero's dishevelled, dark hair, and tugs. 'Give it a break, love. Quat doesn't want you interfering in his love life. He's happy; Hot Vet Guy's happy. Let them work the rest of it out between them.'


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. I'm doing this purely for fun.

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 6:**

'Your damn cat bit me again,' Cathy greeted me at the front door, one hand swathed in tissues.

'What?' I blinked stupidly at her; I'd been thinking about Quat all the way home from the beach, wondering when I could call him without seeming like an obsessive stalker. I couldn't imagine why 'my' Quat would want to bite my sister, though I quite liked the thought of him being mine. Now, if he felt to need to bite me, just the occasional nibble, that would be a totally different story.

'Your _cat_,' she somehow managed to draw out the one syllable word. 'Leo. I was only trying to coax him down from the wardrobe, and he sank his fangs into me.'

'I told you, he's better off being left alone.' I somehow managed to suppress the annoyance that she'd obviously been in my bedroom. 'He's still not used to living here, and your dogs scare him.'

I couldn't help feeling sorry for poor Leo; I only got him a month before I moved here. He'd been brought into the practice where I'd taken a temporary job, just after I got back from Peru, by one of the volunteers from a local animal shelter. If I hadn't taken him in, he would have been put down.

'Well, never mind about that,' Cathy followed me into the kitchen and plonked down in her favourite chair, all ready for a nice sisterly gossip. 'How was the date with Quatre?' She gave me a smug little grin. 'I knew you two would get on.'

_Oh, we'd got along, no problem. The next thing would be getting down and dirty with him…. Except he wanted to take things slowly. Well, that was fine. I could do slowly. Slow is good. _

'It was good.'

Cathy rolled her eyes at me, obviously expecting a great deal more that that. She's always been resolutely fine with the whole gay thing, carrying it to extremes sometimes, wanting to know about my various boyfriends in way too much detail.

'Oh, before I forget, Wufei called. He said he'd tried your mobile and it was switched off.'

_Well, of course I'd had it switched off. Couldn't have anything interrupting my date with Quat now, could I?_

'Thanks, Cathy. I'd better go and call him back.'

And thank you, Wufei, for providing the perfect excuse not to have to sit and have my nosy sister try to interrogate me about Quatre. Not that I didn't want to talk about him; I just don't want to have to answer all Cathy's questions. She'd want to invite him over and be his new best friend and have cosy discussions with him about me.

'Wufei? Hey, it's me. Sorry I missed you earlier.'

He grunted. 'Instead, I had the pleasure of a conversation with your sister.'

They never got on particularly well, those two.

Wufei and I have been friends since we were twelve. His family had just emigrated to Sanque from China; I'd just come to live with my dad and Cathy after my mother's death. I'd been the weird kid who'd actually lived with a travelling circus; something these overly-privileged kids in our new school just couldn't imagine, and he'd been the foreign kid who spoke English with a weird accent, and spent all his spare time in the library.

As the two newbies in a class of kids who had known each other forever, we would have been thrown together anyway, but we'd actually found we liked each other. Cathy had always driven him insane; when we were kids, she'd tried to act like his surrogate older sister; as a teenager, she'd tried to hook him up with the younger sisters of her friends, and when he'd come out, she decided he and I would be the perfect couple.

Somehow, our friendship had managed to survive all that, and even though we'd ended up going to different universities, we'd always kept in touch, and met up whenever we could.

'I gather you still haven't killed her then? Or have you finally cracked and you need a good lawyer to defend you?'

'Not quite. Not yet anyway: I'd forgotten just how damn annoying she can be when she wants. I actually got told off on Saturday for going out without telling her when I'd be back. It's like she still thinks I'm twelve years old.'

Wufei laughed. 'You know my offer still stands; my futon is ready and waiting if you have to get away.'

'Thanks. I'd be over there in two seconds if I didn't have Leo; he's scared enough of Cathy's dogs without bringing him to your place. That hellhound of yours would give him a heart attack.'

'Nataku isn't a hellhound,' Wufei defended his pet. 'She merely believes that a dog of ancient Chinese lineage shouldn't have to share the planet's resources with such inferior creatures as cats.'

'Charming.'

Wufei sniggered. 'Well then, it sounds like you're stuck with Cathy for a bit. You're looking at some apartments tomorrow, aren't you?'

'Yeah. I've got three viewings lined up. None of them sounds great though. The best of the lot is nearly an hour's from the practice. And they all looked pretty grotty on the agency's website.'

'That's what you get for swanning off to South America for a year, when you could have been establishing your career. If you hadn't done that, you could afford a decent place.' Wufei spoke with all the smugness of someone who'd gone straight from university into a highly paid career.

'Well, I didn't and I definitely don't regret it,' I said calmly. 'Anyway, you know I needed to get away for a bit.'

After I'd made the unpleasant discovery my boyfriend of over two years hadn't been quite as faithful as I would have liked, was what I meant.

'I'll find a place somewhere. I just didn't think it would be this hard. Cathy promised to find some possible places before I arrived, but she 'forgot'. I think she had fantasies of me deciding to move in for good, and the two of us could bitch about evil boyfriends and go shopping together.'

Wufei snorted at the idea. 'Still at least she's stopped trying to set you up with her idea of perfect partners.'

'Um, not exactly.'

'Oh, tell me she isn't trying to match-make for you again. Don't women ever learn to stop meddling?'

He has a huge extended family and even now some of his older aunts think he's still going through some sort of rebellious phase. At family gatherings, they invariably keep trying to pair him off with suitable young women.

'Well, this one actually worked out OK,' I admitted, smiling at the thought of Quatre, the first time I'd ever seen him, totally engrossed in the little dog on his lap, and his answering smile when I'd walked into the room.

Damn, I really wanted to call him. Would he think it was weird just a few hours after our first date? I didn't want him to think I was taking things too fast.

'He's called Quatre; I just met him today and we're going for dinner on Thursday.'

'Quatre? That wouldn't be Quatre Winner, would it?'

'You mean you know him?' I asked excitedly; damn, so much for playing it cool. 'How come you never told me?'

'What, I'm supposed to furnish you with a list of all my acquaintances?' He wondered dryly. 'And I don't really know him as such. I've just met him through work a couple of times.'

_No, you don't have to tell me all your acquaintances, just the cute blond ones who'd be perfect for me._

Damn, I could have met Quatre years ago if he'd ever bothered to introduce us. We could be a couple by now.

It took a minute for the second sentence to sink in.

'What do you mean, you know him through work? How does a music teacher know a criminal lawyer through work?'

There was a minute's silence on the other end of the line. 'He hasn't told you then?'

'What? Told me what?'

'Well, you have only just met,' Wufei mused slowly, 'and it's not as if he was ever convicted but that's mainly because juries always fall for how innocent he looks.'

'_What_?' I exploded, and then he burst out laughing.

'I can't believe you fell for that one, Barton! I met him last year when I went to give a talk at a careers seminar at his school. Also, he gives some voluntary music classes at the youth club where I teach martial arts.' He started to laugh again.

Bastard.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of all those visions of Quat in tight leather pants, with a couple of tattoos, and maybe a piercing or two in strategic places.

_He'd look positively delicious in leather...and then I could peel it off him,and get my hands on all that pale skin and..._

_Stop it, Barton. Now. _

Wufei started to say something about how I'd never used to be that gullible, but my mind was far, far away, imagining Quatre straddling a motorbike.. And that blond hair all mussed up by a helmet….and one of those short leather jackets that just skirted his ass.

_Oh, boy. _

'Trowa? Are you still there?'

'Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking about something.'

'Or someone,' Wufei remarked perceptively. Or then again, maybe it was rather obvious what - or who - was on my mind.

_Since I couldn't have him on any other part of me just yet._

'I can't claim to know him well, but I have had the impression that he's been hurt by someone in the past.'

'He's told you that?'

I couldn't help feeling ridiculously hurt. Quatre had told me nothing more than that his previous relationship had ended badly; he obviously hadn't wanted to elaborate and I'd gathered it took him time to trust people. But maybe he did go around spilling the details to even casual acquaintances. Maybe he just hadn't wanted to tell me?

'No,' Wufei snorted. 'He's a very private person. But we've had coffee a couple of times in the club, and he never talked about himself, about his personal life. I know a couple of the other volunteers have asked him out, even just as friends, and he's always refused.'

'Really?' I perked up at that. He had to like me then, right? We'd already been out together, and he'd seemed pleased to be invited out for dinner. We hadn't talked much on our walk back to our cars; on a sunny Sunday, the beach was starting to get crowded.

I'd wanted to kiss him so much before he got into his car, but I'd settled for sliding my hand over his as he gave me Maggie's leash while he searched his pockets for the keys. I'd hated letting him go.

Maggie had been looking out of the window as they drove away, and I'd stood and waved until they were out of sight.

'You've really got it bad for him, haven't you?' Wufei commented. 'You haven't heard a single word I've said.'

'Sorry. Sorry, 'Fei. Listen, are you busy this week? I'm free on Wednesday or Thursday if you want to meet up.'

'Wednesday should be all right,' he mused. 'Can I check my diary and call you back?'

'Sure. Later, OK?'

I dialled off with almost indecent haste, because there was a 'call waiting' on the other line.

And it was Quatre's number.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer - very sadly, neither Gundam Wing nor Maggie belong to me.

Many thanks to Kaeru Shisho for editing and suggestions.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 8:**

Trowa's supposed to be collecting me at seven, so of course Duo calls at twenty to.

'Hey, Quat. All ready for the big date?'

'Naturally,' I say, trying to sound cool, calm and collected.

'No _way,_' he crows delightedly. 'I know you're standing in your room with all your clothes on the bed and you're totally panicking over what to wear?'

_'What_?'

Of course, he's perfectly right. I have no idea what to wear. Trowa had mentioned having 'reservations' which suggested we'd be going to a nice restaurant and that I should dress up. But what if it turns out to be a local pizza place or something and he's in jeans?

Most of my clothes are indeed on the bed, as Duo said, and Maggie, who is developing expensive tastes, is curled up happily on my favourite cashmere sweater.

'How did you know that?' I demand. 'Did you get Heero to install cameras in my bedroom or something?'

It's actually possible; Heero came over on Monday to tinker with my alarm system. Maybe he felt the urge to add an extra bit of surveillance equipment.

'Of course not,' Duo starts to laugh on the other end of the line. 'That's an idea, though, especially if HVG is going to start staying over.'

'He's not!' I say defensively. 'And stop calling him that. You make him sound like a truck.'

'That's HGV, for Heavy Goods Vehicle,' Duo informs me. 'Totally different from Hot Vet Guy. And speaking of him staying over, you might want to get your dog out of the habit of sleeping with you. He mightn't appreciate that sort of threesome, not unless there's something seriously wrong with him, and in that case you'd want to dump him anyway. And, believe me, there's nothing worse than a crying dog when you're trying to make out with someone. The first time Heero and I….'

'Duo, stop.' I beg. 'I have no intention of sleeping with Trowa tonight. I promise.'

'Well, maybe not on the second date,' he allows. 'Anyway, the reason I know what you're doing is that I lived with you for years. You're such a girl sometimes!'

'Oh, right. This from the guy who has hair down to his ass,' I shoot back. 'I watched you get ready for your first date with Heero, remember?'

'That was just the one time,' he defends himself and then snickers. 'Not like Heero cares what clothes I wear anyway; only how easy it is to get them off. You always freak about clothes, though, so I thought I'd give you a hand. What you should wear is that turquoise shirt that brings out the colour of your eyes, and those dark dress pants.'

'That's not a bad idea, Duo. Thank you,' I say gratefully, rooting around in my piles of clothes. 'I hadn't thought of that.'

He laughs. 'I'm sure the sexy vet will appreciate it too. Oh, another thing, pass on that pink vest, OK?'

'Huh,' I snort. Admittedly, I don't have the world's best fashion sense - it comes of being the only boy amid a gaggle of girls - but I'd given that particular item away long ago.

'Just checking. Oh, Quat, wait a sec.' There's some muttering in the background as he covers the mouthpiece and then, '_Fine_, Heero. I'll ask him. But I know he'll say no. Quatre? My insanely paranoid boyfriend wants to know if you'd like to borrow a wire for the date?'

'A wire?' What in the world is he talking about? Barbed wire? I know he and Heero indulge in the occasional bit of light bondage, but that seems a little hard core.

'You know; a listening device? So we can check things are going all right for you?'

'Oh! No, I don't want something like that! Thank you,' I add politely. I worry about those two sometimes; Heero especially. He has a tendency to carry on like he's the lead character in a spy movie.

'I _told_ you he wouldn't go for it,' Duo informs Heero. 'And no, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want us following him either. Why don't you go and take Shinnie for his nice walk, and let me talk to Quat?'

'You can go with them, you know,' I suggest. 'You don't have to stay here and talk to me.'

'Nah, it's OK. Heero's been stuck in his office all day; it'll do him good to get out for some fresh air.' He laughs. 'He can give me some exercise when he gets back. So are you all excited?'

'I think so.'

Excited, terrified, impatient all at once. I'm longing to see Trowa again, but what if we don't get on? What if we bore each other to tears after ten minutes? In fairness, that's not very likely; we've spoken on the 'phone every day and still haven't run out of things to talk about, but this is an official date, so naturally I'm imagining all the many things that could go wrong.

I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I could bring Maggie with me, actually.

'Duo, I'd better go, or Trowa will be here. I'll call you tomorrow morning.'

'OK. Have a good time. And don't do anything I wouldn't do.'

Well, that gives me plenty of latitude, I think, as I get dressed, buttoning my shirt buttons just as the doorbell rings. Before I answer it, I take Maggie, still cosily wrapped in cashmere, into her puppy pen and close the door firmly. I've already made the mistake of leaving her loose while I go out and I definitely won't be doing that again.

Trowa's standing on the front step, hand raised to press the doorbell a second time. He actually looks rather taller than I remember, maybe because he's all in black, and my mouth dries slightly as he leans down to brush a kiss across my cheek.

'I'm sorry I kept you waiting,' I apologise. 'I was just making sure Maggie was all settled.'

'No problem,' he says easily and hands me a small bag. 'Here, this is for you. I thought it might be useful.'

'Thank you!' I rummage in the brown paper bag and take out a dog's leash. _Useful? _Whatever does that mean? Is he trying to tell me he's into bondage? That he wants me to wear the thing?

'Well, officially it's for Maggie,' Trowa elaborates. 'The lead you're using now will be fine in a couple of months, but it's a little heavy for her now.'

Whew.

'Oh. Thank you! Ah, would you like to come in and see her before we go?' I offer.

Trowa glances at his watch. 'We probably should head off now. The reservation is for seven thirty, and the traffic's pretty heavy tonight. Maybe I could drop in later?'

'That's fine,' I smile at him, and then realise that maybe he thinks that it's more than an invitation for coffee and conversation. Maybe he thinks it's an offer of rampant sex.

Which, of course, it isn't.

Although he looks awfully good in black.

It's a little awkward in the car at first. I can't actually _tell _him that sex isn't going to be on the menu tonight, but then maybe he'll come back to my house expecting it ….

Oh dear. There should be some sort of questionnaire one can fill in before dating, laying all this down in black and white, so there's no room for these sort of grey areas.

It's a relief when Trowa switches on the radio, and I start to relax as he flicks stations, and we can talk about music as we drive across town.

'Lek's?' I ask incredulously, as we pull into what an outsider might consider to be a nondescript parking lot. 'You actually got a table at Lek's on a Thursday night?'

He grins slightly. 'You did say you liked spicy food and this is supposed to be the best Thai food in Sanque. Is that all right?'

'Oh, it's perfect,' I assure him, charmed that he'd remembered. Simon had always taken me to whatever upmarket restaurant or club was currently popular with the 'in' crowd, regardless of whether I'd enjoy myself or not. I usually hadn't.

Lek's is - well, it's officially a restaurant, because the sign over the door says so, and there are menus, but it only has twelve tables and it's practically impossible to get one of them without booking six months in advance, or being related to the family. 'I just can't believe you managed to get a reservation here.'

'I have connections,' Trowa tells me smugly. 'My friend Wufei's grandmother is best friends with Mrs. Lek. They apparently came to Sanque around the same time, and attended English classes together. I've known them since I was a kid.'

'I'm impressed,' I beam up at him, as we walk inside. 'This is probably my favourite restaurant in the world.'

'Good.' As we wait to be shown to our table, Trowa gives me a relieved little grin. 'I'm was hoping this would be OK. You were talking about Thai food the other night; I know this place isn't fancy or anything, but I thought you'd like it. I wasn't sure if you'd ever been here before.'

'Not for a year or so, actually. The last time was a birthday party for my friend, Zechs, and we ended up being barred by Mrs. Lek.'

'Really?' Trowa's eyes gleam. 'What did you do? Smash up the furniture? Ask for tomato ketchup with your meal?'

'No! It wasn't my fault, honestly! It was Zechs; there was so much food left that we asked if we could have the leftovers to bring home.' I have to stop there for a minute, as a waitress shows us to our table.

'That sounds quite reasonable.' Trowa smiles at the waitress who hands over the menus.

'Oh, that bit was fine,' I can't stop grinning at the memory. 'The problem was that the waiter who came to pack up the food was really cute, and Zechs likes Asian guys, and the two of them got…rather friendly. He turned out to be Mrs. Lek's grandson, who'd just arrived from Bangkok, and she didn't like him being corrupted on his first day in Sanque.'

Trowa laughs along with me. 'So you were thrown out?'

I nod. 'It was a long time ago; they shouldn't recognise me now. Just so you know, though, if Mrs. Lek comes in, I'll probably dive under the table. She terrifies the life out of me.'

'I promise to defend you to the death against little old ladies and all other perils,' he tells me solemnly and then grins when I blush, grateful when the waitress comes back to take our orders. We let her recommend the evenings' specials, and choose dishes we can share.

'I know she's scary, though. She was always catching Wufei and me doing what we weren't supposed to be doing; it was like she had some weird sort of sixth sense.'

'So,' I can't help asking, 'what did you do that you weren't supposed to?'

He shrugs, grinning. 'All the stuff teenage boys get up to. You know?'

I don't, not really, but I nod anyway and change the subject. 'Are you and Wufei still good friends then? It must be nice to have been friends with someone for so long.'

'He's my closest friend. I think you know him, actually. He helps out at the Sanque Inner City Youth Centre.'

'Oh, Mr. Chang,' I nod eagerly. 'Yes, I do know him. I didn't know his first name; we just use surnames at the club.' I shrug. 'It's supposed to teach the kids respect for adults. How do you know him?'

'From school. We've been friends since we were twelve. Where did you go anyway? Somewhere in Sanque City?' He laughs. 'We probably have a few more friends in common. Maybe we met when we were kids, at a match or a sports day or something?'

I shake my head. None of the local schools, even the private ones, were considered good enough by my parents for their offspring.

'I went to boarding school in Switzerland.'

'Really?' Trowa sounds surprised. 'I've never met anyone who was at boarding school. Did you like it?'

'Well, I hated it at first, but I was only eight, so I suppose it was rather frightening.'

'You went sent away to school when you were _eight_?' He sounds positively horrified on my behalf. 'Quatre, that's barbaric.'

'Well, it's rather archaic, certainly, but it wasn't that bad,' I lean over to help myself to some more noodles, and brush my fingers against his. 'Most of the time, I really enjoyed it; we went on wonderful excursions and I learned to ski, and there was a superb music department.'

'But...didn't you miss your family?'

Oh dear. I hadn't really wanted to discuss that particular topic. He'll probably think I'm a horrible unfeeling person if I say I didn't.

'We weren't that close,' I say finally. 'My older sisters had all been sent to school and my parents were away most of the time. I missed our housekeeper more than anyone; she used to make me cookies and tell me the most wonderful stories.'

'Poor little rich boy,' he murmurs gently.

The main courses, when they come, look superb, and smell wonderfully aromatic. All my favourite foods, in my favourite restaurant, and I don't really have an appetite.

I eat mechanically, and even manage to sound appreciative when the waitress comes around to check on us, but all my attention is on Trowa. I've never, never felt like this before.

I just want to listen to his voice, to make him laugh, to watch the way his eye colour changes sometimes depending on his mood, to watch the way he sometimes sweeps his bangs back from his forehead, and sometimes just lets them hang over one eye.

He's in the middle of telling me about the apartment he's found, when the front door opens, and, a tiny, grey-haired old lady sweeps in. Before I even know what I'm doing, I've slid under the table, waiting for the two highly-polished black court shoes to click past our table.

Our table, incidentally, is a small table for two. There's not a lot of room underneath to accommodate me, in addition to Trowa's long legs. Oh, dear. I can just imagine the comments if Duo - or Zechs - could see me now.

'The coast is clear,' Trowa murmurs suddenly, reaching one hand down to help me up.

'I'm so sorry,' I stammer. 'That was stupid. I just saw Mrs. Lek come in and I panicked.'

'Oh, you don't have to apologise,' he says easily. 'I enjoyed it.'

I can feel myself turning the colour of an overripe tomato, and Trowa leans over, touching my hand under the pretext of picking up the drinks menu.

'I'm just teasing, Quatre,' he says gently. 'Really. I remember the rules, and I promise not to pounce on you. OK?'

'Sorry. I'm just a little nervous. It's a long time since I've been on a first date.'

'It's only been a few days, actually,' he teases. 'Remember? It was perfect. And I told you I wasn't going to rush you and I won't.' One corner of his mouth quirks. 'I'm not expecting you to sleep with me tonight if that's what you're worrying about. Although, I have to say, you are sending me some pretty mixed signals.'

'I am?' I glance up from my intense study of the tablecloth to find his grin has broadened.

That gets a fully fledged laugh from him. 'Well, you were on your knees at my feet, under a very small table. There was a minute there, until I saw Mrs. Lek, when I wasn't sure quite what you were planning to do.'


	9. Chapter 9

Many thanks to KS for editing, and all my reviewers. You are really keeping me inspired to continue with this one…

**Trowa's POV:**

He was largely silent on the drive home, commenting on whatever I said, but never once volunteering anything.

When we pulled up outside his house, neither of us spoke for a few moments, waiting for the engine noise to die down.

'I'm not sure if - if you'd like to come in for a coffee?'

'I'd would like to,' I said sincerely. God, it would be so good to be alone with him for once, but I wasn't sure if he was just being polite, or whether he really wanted me in his house, 'but it's getting late and I know you have work tomorrow.'

'Actually, I don't have a class until eleven,' he assured me, with one of those bright little smiles. 'Unless maybe you'd rather not come inside when it's late? You've probably got a lot on tomorrow too.'

'Quartre,' I leaned over, and unbuckled his seat belt. 'I would love to come inside more than anything I can imagine right now.'

Oooooh-Kay.

Maybe not the best choice of words. _Coming…inside…_

_Down, Trowa._

'Oh,' he laughed at my slightly over-the-top response. 'Well, if you're sure I'm not twisting your arm.'

'You can twist my arm any time you like,' I promised.

_Or any other part of me._

_No. bad._

Quatre paused in the act of opening his door to give me an impish little grin and a wink. 'I'll remember that.'

Getting inside his house was probably harder than getting inside the Royal Palace. I stood in the porch while he disabled a variety of alarm systems, muttering about lasers, and then taking my hand to lead me inside the hallway.

Alone at last.

He didn't seem to be in any hurry to let go my hand, so I pulled him close and pressed my lips to his, in a polite, 'please may I?' way, ready to pull away if he wasn't OK with that. Except he was; quite wonderfully OK, actually, pressing closer as his mouth opened hungrily under mine, and sliding one leg between mine.

'God, I've been wanting to do that all week. Ever since last Sunday.'

'So have I.'

'You, Mr. Winner, are putting a hell of a strain on my self-control, you know that?'

'Should I apologise?' He grinned up at me, eyes sparkling, lips pursed together in the most adorable little pout. I couldn't work out whether he was staring to trust me not to jump on him, or whether he just felt more comfortable in his own home.

I shook my head. 'I'm starting to like it, in a totally weird, masochistic sort of way.' The odd thing was, it was true. All my other relationships had started out with sex; Elliott had let me drag him into bed two hours after we'd met each other; it had taken me two years to realise that he'd also given plenty of other people that privilege.

Since we'd broken up, there'd been a few one night stands; fun at the time, but never really going beyond that.

Quatre was totally hot, but he was also fun to be with and clever and warm, the sort of guy I'd maybe want to keep as a friend, even without the sex.

Who knew; maybe his way would actually work out better?

'So.. would you prefer tea or coffee?'

_I'd prefer you. But if you're not on the menu, then….._

'Coffee. if you've got de-caff. Otherwise, tea is fine.'

'I'll just be a minute. Please, make yourself comfortable.'

I hesitated after he'd walked out, unsure as to whether I should follow him or not. I didn't want him feeling that I expected him to wait on me, but maybe he'd wanted to have a few minutes alone.

I'd assumed when I 'd collected him that the house, a large Victorian building in one of Sanque City's most upmarket areas, was divided into flats, or that he shared with other people, but it seemed to be all one living area, and all very much his.

The room he left me in was vast, probably taking up most of the ground floor, and easily as big as my new apartment. The sort of room I'd always wanted.

There was actually a gleaming grand piano in one corner, with a violin case on the stool and a bundle of sheet music on the floor. It was all too easy to imagine Quatre here, curled up on the window-seat or stretched out one of the enormous, squishy leather couches.

_Naked._

_All that pale skin and golden hair gleaming against the chocolate-brown fabric._

_Damn._

_Down, boy._

_Roll over and play dead…._

When, I'd told him he was testing my poor, unfortunate self-control, I hadn't lied. It was too used to instant gratification.

I'd almost lost it in the restaurant earlier; the inevitable result of having the dreamy blond I'd been fantasising for days nestled against my legs. I'd been able to feel his breath on my thigh; if he'd turned his face just a little, he could have….

_No._

I managed to kill off that thought and stood, wandering around the room. He had a sound system that looked like it could compose symphonies if you programmed it properly, lots of books, the world's largest CD collection, and a nicely eclectic assortment of DVDs.

_Casablanca, Amélie, ca Jurassic Park, _a boxed set of Alfred Hitchcock classics, _The English Patient, Hero, _all the _Mummy_ and _Pirates of the Caribbean _movies; some old British comedies…

No Tarantino, but maybe I could corrupt him.

Bad thought.

'Well?' He was standing in the doorway, holding a tray in one hand and a squirming, whining Maggie in the other. 'My taste in films hasn't sent you running away, I hope?' His eyes sparkled. 'I even hid all my musicals upstairs.'

'No, I'm not planning on running anywhere yet. Hello, gorgeous,' I took Maggie from him and let her smother my face with licks.

Maybe she'd be able to give her master a few tips.

'I am wondering how you watch them without a TV.'

He laughed, putting the tray down carefully and sitting on the couch. 'Duo had a huge plasma television; he took it with him when he went to live with Heero and I haven't got around to buying a new one yet. I've just been watching movies on my laptop in bed. I'm starting to enjoy it, actually.'

He was smiling as he handed me a cup, but it seemed sad somehow, that this beautiful, amazing guy was apparently quite content to spend his evenings alone, apart from his computer and his dog.

'I made peppermint tea. I hope that's all right? I promise, I'll have decaffeinated coffee for the next time you visit.'

'Oh?' I took a sip. 'There's going to be a next time then, is there?'

'I hope so. I mean, only if _you _want to…'

'Of course, I want to see you again. Very much.' Not taking my eyes off him, I reached over to put my cup on the small table beside the couch. Didn't want to get tea all over his nice couch, after all. The problem with not looking was that I managed to knock over a silver photograph frame.

'Sorry,' I reached for the frame to set it upright.

'Don't be,' he shrugged. 'They're my parents, they wouldn't want to see what we're doing anyway.'

I looked at the picture properly, seeing a stern-looking, bearded man, and a tall, elegantly dressed woman with Quatre's fair colouring, but an icily superior expression.

'They're not happy with you being gay, then?'

As soon as I 'd asked the question, I regretted it. My sister had mentioned just how unhappy and it probably wasn't a subject he wanted to discuss. Especially with someone he'd just meant.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Honestly.'

He gave a tight, little nod. 'It's all right. Most of Sanque knows what happened; it's not like it's a secret. We don't get on, we never did, really; but they threw me out of the house when I was seventeen. It was all very melodramatic.'

'What? Because you were gay?' I breathed, appalled.

'That was part of it,' he took Maggie on to his lap, and she licked his hand, curling against him. 'I'd always wanted to study music; my father wanted me to go to Harvard, like he had, and take over the business one day. They just took it for granted I'd do what they wanted. I didn't have any money of my own, so they assumed I'd have to toe the line eventually. Then I won a school scholarship to study music at Sanque University and…'

'But that's incredible,' I broke in. 'They must have been impressed by that.'

'Actually, no. They were furious. They'd thought music was just a phase for me, that I'd grow out of it. Anyway, we had - words, and my father said that I could either get out of the house and not come back, or else accede to his wishes - to study Business, like he had, marry a suitable girl, and produce lots of suitable grandsons who would do the exact same thing when they grew up.'

His mouth twisted, and I put one arm around him, touched when he rested his head on my shoulder.

'That was when I told them I was gay, which was not exactly received terribly well, and then I left.'

'Just like that?' It was hard to believe anyone could be that heartless. Sure, I had friends whose parents had taken their coming out particularly well, but never like that. My Dad hadn't exactly been over the moon, but he'd accepted it. 'They seriously threw you out? What did you do?'

He nibbled at his lower lip. 'I just walked for hours; I was going to call a friend but I was so embarrassed about what had happened. I didn't even know Sanque City all that well; I'd been away at school most of the time, and I'd never been out after dark by myself.'

'What did you do?' God, I hated the thought of him wandering around alone, with nowhere to go. Sanque City is a fairly safe place but there are still bad areas. Especially for a cute teenage boy with no survival instincts. 'I wish I'd known you back then. I could have helped.'

'Thank you,' he breathed. 'I'd forgotten my wallet so I couldn't go a hotel. The only thing I had was my violin; I'd had a music lesson scheduled for later that day so it was in the hallway when I left. I ended up staying that night in a homeless shelter. It was ironic, really. The only reason I knew the place existed was because Father had been complaining about it. He wanted to build a luxury hotel a block away, and he was trying to have the shelter closed down. I recognised the street name and they gave me a bed.'

'Oh, Quatre. That's terrible,' I tightened my arm around me and he snuggled closer.

'It wasn't that bad, actually,' he said positively. 'The priest and nun in charge were wonderful, and they let me stay for a few days. I helped out and played music for their church services and thought about what I wanted to do. Then, I called my friend Relena and she and her brother Zechs came to collect me. He was in his final year at Sanque University and he let me have the spare room in his apartment. My scholarship covered all the tuition fees, and I did all sorts of jobs to make money.'

'But - you've never spoken to your parents since then?' I stroked his blond hair, loving the silky feel of it.

'Oh, yes. I've tried calling them lots of times, but they refuse to talk to me unless I give up my 'perverted lifestyle', as they insist on calling it. I still see my grandmother sometimes; she lives in France now but we talk on the 'phone all the time. She gave me this house, actually, for my twenty-first birthday; she said I'd get it in her will anyway, so I might as well have it now. And my two younger sisters email me, and we sometimes meet up when they can slip out of the house.' He sighed. 'I'm sorry; you must be bored listening to me. You can't possibly want to hear all of this.'

'Actually, I do,' I kissed the top of his head. 'I want to know everything about you. And your parents are the ones who should be sorry, for treating you like that, and for never realising what an amazing person you are.'


	10. Chapter 10

Note - Many thanks to Snow for editing, and to everyone who's been reviewing. If you'd like me to reply, and you're not logged in, please let me know your email address.

Quartre's POV:

**Chapter Ten:**

'Tell me it's not true!'

Oh dear. I really, really hope this is all a dream; that my best friend hasn't called me in what appears to be the middle of the night.

'Duo,' I gasp, fumbling to switch on my bedside lamp. 'It's only six o'clock. It's Saturday! I'm trying to sleep.'

He ignores these minor details. 'You didn't really tell the Evil One that she could live with you, did she? Tell me that 'Lena got it wrong. God, Quat, I don't believe you!'

'You were the one who suggested I should find someone to share the house with me,' I say defensively. 'How did you find out anyway?'

''Lena was talking to Heero yesterday. And yeah, I think you should have someone to share with you. But I meant a nice, normal person who'd be fun for you to have around. Not someone who flies around on a broomstick and sacrifices newborn babies at the full moon.'

'Duo! Stop it. You know Dorothy's my friend. And she was in a terrible state when I talked to her yesterday morning. Those two girls she was living with just told her to get out, without giving her any notice whatsoever.'

'I know about that,' Duo says grimly. 'Relena is friendly with one of them; apparently your darling Dorothy was trying to hit on their boyfriends.'

'There was some sort of misunderstanding, according to Dorothy,' I hedge, pulling another pillow against the headboard and propping myself up. So much for a lie in. Maggie, who had been happily curled at my feet, looks up at this disturbance wondering whatever is to causing her world to shake so much. 'What was I supposed to do; tell her she couldn't stay with me and she could go and live on the streets?'

'Do her good,' Duo mutters, 'although the poor homeless people probably have enough problems already. Why can't she go and stay with that drug lord uncle of hers?'

I sigh. Dorothy's uncle, Duke Dermail, faced criminal charges two years ago, that he'd been allowing his investment bank to launder money for drug cartels. He wasn't convicted, partly due to the investigating detectives having failed to secure a search warrant to the very letter of the law. There were also rumours of jury intimidation, and most people still believe he was guilty.

Still, none of that is Dorothy's fault.

'She stayed with him last night. I told her she could move in here this morning.'

It's Duo's turn to sigh. 'You're way too soft, you know that. I hope you're planning to charge her rent.'

'I'll have to see how long she wants to stay, and how it works out first. If we're both happy sharing, then we'll discuss rent.'

'And until then, she gets a free place to hang the broomstick,' Duo notes sourly. 'I bet your cute vet guy is going to be over the moon when he hears you've got an evil new roomie. Shit, I totally forgot; how did the date go on Thursday? I meant to call you yesterday but work was insane. Howard picked me up at four am, and I didn't get home 'til eleven, and I just crashed.'

Aha, that explains why he hadn't been on the 'phone first thing yesterday morning. I've been wondering when he'll bring up that subject; it's a measure of how strongly he feels about Dorothy that it hasn't come up yet.

'It was fabulous,' I enthuse, feeling a smile stretch across my face. 'We went to Lek's for dinner. His best friend knows the family so he got reservations.'

Duo whistles, impressed. 'Nice one, Trowa. Mrs. Lek didn't try to throw you out, did she?'

'No! Although...oh, Duo, this is so embarrassing. She walked in when we were almost finished and I just panicked.'

He chuckles. 'What did you do? Run out screaming into the night?'

'Worse. I dived under the table and hid.'

He bursts out laughing. 'You didn't! I bet Trowa loved that! Did he think you were going to give him a blow job or what?'

'Um, I think he did, yes,' I mutter, feeling my colour rise. 'He said I was giving him very mixed signals, considering I'd already told him I that I wanted to take things slowly.'

'I'll bet he did,' Duo chuckles. 'He doesn't mind that you're not putting out?'

'He understands. And I did...ah, put out a little.'

'Really? Below the waist action?'

'No! We just - um - snuggled on the couch for a bit.' I carefully cover Maggie's ears. I think she's starting to recognise Trowa's name.

'Oh, you're just so cute.' He laughs, and then his tone goes all serious. 'Listen, Kitty-Quat. I know you got hurt the last time and everything, and it's taken you a long time to get over it, but if you like this guy, you've got to give him a chance to get close. I don't just mean the physical stuff, you know?'

'I know. I told him about my parents last night.'

'You did?' Duo sounds surprised; it's not something I'm normally confident discussing with relative strangers. 'What did he say?'

'He was really nice about it.' I tell him. It's weird; talking about my family usually depresses me, but with Trowa it had been different somehow. He'd so obviously been on my side; some people, my ex-boyfriend among them, think I was insane to throw up the chance to inherit a fortune. Actually, Dorothy feels that way too.

'You really like him, huh? As in _like _him? Lots of lovely physical attraction?'

'Oh, yes.' Maggie gazes up at me soulfully and gives one finger a thoughtful lick. 'It's - a little scary, you know. I only met him a week ago, and I can't stop thinking about him. He' s got such an amazing smile, and he's got a really cute way of brushing his hair back from his face, and, well,' I can feel myself blushing again, 'and he looked so incredible when he collected me on Thursday.'

'All that stuff is normal when you start to fall for someone,' Duo tells me gently. 'Remember me when I first met Heero?'

'I'm not _that_ bad!' I defend myself. 'And you're still that way about him. Worse possibly.'

'Then it must be love. Listen, Quat, I just want to say one thing, and then I'll let you go. Don't get so focused on all the stuff you don't want to do, that you leave out the stuff you _do_ want, OK?'

'OK.' He's right of course.

'Good. When are you seeing him again? Soon, I hope.'

'Today, actually,' I reach out and tickle Maggie's tummy, sending her into squirming ecstasy. 'He's moving into his new apartment this morning, and he's asked me to lunch. Dorothy's coming here at eleven, so I can get her sorted and then drive over to see Trowa.'

Duo snorts at Dorothy's name. 'Well, good luck with that and have fun with the hot vet. I think it's time for me to give Heero his wake up call.'

'At six thirty? I hope he appreciates it more than I did.'

'Oh, I can guarantee that he'll…..appreciate it.' Duo promises silkily. 'Later, Quat. Have fun with your HVG.'

'He's just being silly, you know,' I assure Maggie after I hang up. 'Dorothy's not a bad person, just a little...high maintenance. You'll probably love her, and she's got a dog for you to play with.' She twists around to swipe a lick across my face and dances to the end of the bed, wide-awake now and ready to play.

Over seven hours later, I'm starting to agree with Duo. Dorothy arrived two hours later than we'd agreed, and by the time I've helped her carry all her many possessions inside, shown her the guestroom, given her a tour of the house, and introduced Maggie to Dorothy and Taco the Chihuahua, I'm running more than an hour late.

To make things worse, there are several cars parked outside Trowa's new building, still packed with cardboard boxes and black plastic sacks. He'd said some friends were helping him to move, but that they'd probably be gone by midday.

It's not that I don't want to meet his friends; it's just been one of those mornings, and I don't really feel like facing a lot of strangers.

'Quatre?' A tap on the window makes me jump, and then Trowa is opening the passenger door and sliding in beside me. 'Are you OK? You've been sitting out there for nearly ten minutes. Is something wrong?'

'Not really. I've just had a miserable day. I'm really sorry I'm late; my friend didn't arrive when she said she would and I tried to call but your 'phone was turned off.'

'My fault,' he says easily. 'I forgot to charge it last night. It's so good to see you.'

The look in his eyes, the feel of his hand gently stroking the back of my neck makes me forget all the petty little irritations of the morning.

'You're really tense,' he murmurs, sliding those talented fingers just below my collar. 'Are you sure there's nothing else wrong?'

'Just lots of stupid little things,' I confess. 'I've been looking forward to seeing you ever since you left on Thursday, and I just got really annoyed when Dorothy didn't bother to be punctual. I'd even told her I was going out. And she's got enough clothes with her to furnish a department store, and I don't think her dog and Maggie are going to be friends and I know it's stupid but I'm not much good at meeting new people and all your friends are in there, and…'

I manage to stop there, probably too late. I'm sure I'm sound utterly pathetic and needy.

'Shhhh,' Trowa soothes. 'Just try to relax, hmmm? It's OK. You've already met Wufei and my sister, and there's just one other girl and her boyfriend, and they'll all be leaving soon anyway, and we can spend the afternoon together. All right?'

I nod. 'Sorry for being such an idiot.'

'You're just having a bad day, that's all. And where's Maggie? I thought you were going to bring her.'

'Well, I was going to, but then I remember you saying your cat doesn't like dogs, and I thought I'd better not. Dorothy said she'd look after her, so she's not there by herself.'

'We'll have to introduce them sooner or later. They should be OK; Maggie's just a puppy and Leo's only about six months old.' Trowa grins. 'After all, it's going to be very awkward if our pets don't get on, isn't it?' The hand resting on the back of my neck stills, and he leans over to kiss me. 'I'm glad you've been looking forward to seeing me since Thursday; I've been feeling exactly the same about you.'


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer - Not mine.

Many thanks to everyone for the lovely reviews.

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 11:**

Looking around my new home, it was still hard to believe it was mine. Within the space of three days, I'd suddenly gone from being my older sister's reluctant lodger, to having my own apartment. Thanks to Barney the English Bulldog.

He'd been my first patient on Thursday morning, and he'd managed to cut his two front paws on broken glass.

'Poor little Barney,' his elderly owner had cooed as I lifted the dog on to the examining table. 'The nice man is trying to make you feel better, isn't he? Yes, he _is. _You know,' she looked up at me, 'I'm just so angry about this, Mr. Barton. He's in pain because some stupid people were careless.'

'We see it all the time, unfortunately,' I murmured. 'People smash glasses and bottles on the pavement and dogs cut up their paws. It drives me insane.'

She nodded. 'I know what you mean, but he actually cut himself in the apartment we'd had been renting out. I didn't want to rent to students, especially not an art student, but I play bridge with this boy's grandmother, so I thought he would be all right. I called around last night to collect the rent, and he'd totally vanished. Apparently, he's dropped out of university to go to Thailand or one of those places with a girlfriend. And you should see the state of the place! He'd painted on all the walls in the most ridiculous colours, and the furniture is only good for the dump, and there was broken glass all over the back garden, which is why poor Barney cut his paw. It's infuriating.'

I made consoling sounds, sliding out another sliver of glass from Barney's left paw. 'Are you still looking to rent it out, Mrs. Lomax?' I asked, trying to sound casual.

'Well, yes. My husband and I are retired and we need the income. But it's going to cost a fortune to have it redecorated, before we can get another tenant, and then it's so hard to find someone mature and responsible. We're certainly not renting to any more students!'

Twenty minutes later, Cathy having kindly agreed to cover for me for an hour, we were driving to see the apartment, a twenty-six year-old veterinarian apparently being a more attractive proposition than another batch of wild students. Particularly a vet who was willing to take charge of cleaning the place up and redecorating in exchange for a slightly reduced rent.

Conveniently, the building was less that fifteen minutes' drive from the surgery - and approximately the same distance to Quatre's house - and it was perfect. A ground floor apartment that was just big enough for a man and his cat, and his not-very-big blond boyfriend, if I could ever tempt him to sleep over, and there was even a tiny back garden.

Wufei came over on Friday evening after work, and, once we'd both made several trips to the dump with the previous tenant's abandoned belongings, and what was left of the Lomaxs' furniture, we spent hours covering the walls with some pale mint-green paint, left over from painting the surgery walls. It wasn't exactly the colour I would have chosen, but it was better than the art student's choice of décor, and it was neutral enough that Mrs. Lomax would probably approve.

By midnight, we were both exhausted, and partly asphyxiated from paint fumes, but my new home looked a million times better.

Saturday morning was spent getting my furniture, such as it was, organised. I had a few things I'd shipped home from University, and my friends had all contributed odds and ends from their garages and attics and garden sheds. Wufei had generously lent me his futon until I got around to buying a proper bed.

Cathy had taken over organising what went where; Sally Po, who'd been at school with Wufei and me, discreetly changed things around when Cathy wasn't looking, while Wufei, Sally's boyfriend, Tim, and I took turns driving to our respective houses and ferrying new loads around.

By one o' clock, we had most of the heavy stuff in place, and were taking a break for pizza., with only the small items like books and clothes left to be arranged. I couldn't believe I suddenly had so many possessions, and the girls were teasing me about soft furnishings and colour schemes.

There was still no sign of Quatre. Stupidly, in all the rush, I'd forgotten to charge my 'phone battery, and I couldn't remember exactly when he'd said he'd drop over. I thought he'd such lunch, but maybe that was just wishful thinking and he hadn't actually specified. Or maybe he'd found something more exciting to do. He'd said a friend of his was moving in with him for a few weeks, so perhaps he'd needed to stay at home with her.

'I think we should have a toast.' Sally's voice broke into my meandering thoughts on whether or not I should just call him. Maybe he was busy getting his new friend settled into his house; maybe he'd think I was hassling him if I called. She raised her glass of cola. 'To Trowa's castle.'

'Trowa's castle,' we all echoed.

'And I want to thank you guys for all your help. Seriously, I'd never have done this without you. When I get the kitchen sorted, you're all invited to dinner.'

'And your new boyfriend?' Cathy asked slyly. 'I thought you said he was coming over today.' I'd stupidly told my nosy sister that he might be dropping in later, and she wasn't helping by asking every few minutes. Honestly, she was like a child waiting for Santa Claus. 'Can't you call him and check?'

'No.' I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice; she'd been very good about helping me move; covering my shifts at the practice and urging me to take whatever I wanted from the house.

'Well, we've got to go soon,' Sally changed the subject, getting up and starting to clear away plates. 'Tim has an afternoon shift at the hospital and I have to drop in to see a patient. Is Quatre a blond with a blue car, by the way?' She wondered suddenly, glancing out the window. 'Because there's a guy like that parked outside.'

I gave him ten minutes before I went out, figuring that maybe he wanted to be alone for a bit. Any doubts I'd had about bothering him vanished once he smiled at me, and then he admitted that he'd been looking forward to seeing me. He even let me give him a shoulder massage and feeling the tight knots start to relax under my fingers felt nearly as good as getting my hands on him.

'Oh! I have something for you,' he remembered as were about to go inside. He fumbled under his seat and produced a slim package wrapped in shiny gold paper. 'It's just a small house-warming present.'

'Quatre, you didn't have to do that.' I was already ripping the paper off, trying to remember the last time someone had just handed me a gift out of the blue. 'Wow.'

It was a wooden photograph frame, very simply carved and just chunky enough to show off the gleaming grain of the wood.

'Do you like it?' Quatre's blue eyes were fixed on my face. 'I didn't know what to get you, but I know you like photography so I thought it might be useful.'

'I love it,' I leaned over to kiss his cheek. 'It's Sanque Red Oak, isn't it? Have you ever been up to the forests around Lake Victoria?'

'Only once, when I was little. I keep meaning to go again, but I never seem to have the time.'

'If you're not doing anything one day next weekend, we could take a drive up there. We could leave early in the morning and spent the whole day up there. Take a photo of the two of us to put in the frame?'

'I'd love that,' Quatre beamed. 'We could bring a picnic lunch and then stop for dinner somewhere on the way home.'

_And maybe stop off at a nice little inn somewhere after dinner for the night…_

_No, he'd probably think it was far too soon. Still, getting to spend a whole day with him would be amazing enough, without expecting more._

Walking up the front path a pace behind him gave me a chance to admire his back view in dark blue jeans. I could tell he was still just a little bit tense, and had to wonder why such a cute, charming guy would ever need to be shy around strangers.

Then we were at the gate, and I was wondering if he'd like my friends, and what he would think of my poky, dark little apartment, compared to his professionally-decorated mansion. It wasn't as if I even had proper furniture; just mismatched stuff that other people hadn't deemed good enough for their own houses.

Sally and Tim were on their way out as I pushed the door open, pausing only for quick introductions to Quatre, goodbyes all around, and promises to drop by during the week.

'Cathy and I will bring in your things from Cathy's car,' Wufei announced. 'Why don't you show Quatre around while we're outside?' Cathy looked like she might protest, but my friend was already holding the door for her, and short of outright rudeness, she couldn't exactly refuse to leave.

'Showing you around won't take long,' I grinned a bit uncertainly at Quatre. 'I've only got a few rooms. You've seen the hall, and this is the sitting room. I know it's a bit small and old-fashioned, but it's just for me and Leo, so we don't need a huge place.'

'Oh, I really like it, Trowa. It's so cosy!'

'That's a polite way of saying it's not big enough to swing a cat, right?'

'Well, I hope you're not planning to swing your cat around.' He flicked me an impish grin. 'But really, I love how it has all the original features; those sash windows and the hardwood floors; even that lovely cast iron fireplace.' He wandered over to tap at one of my walls. _'My' _walls. That still sounded good.

'What are you looking for? Narnia? Or a secret passage?'

'Wouldn't that be fun? No, I was just thinking that if your landlord didn't object, you could knock down the wall between this room and the hall. You don't need a big hallway and it would give this room so much more space.'

'Um,' I prevaricated. 'The owners are elderly; I don't think they have a lot of money, and they probably wouldn't appreciate me knocking down their walls.'

'It's only a partition wall; I could help you to do it. It wouldn't be a particularly big job.'

'What, you moonlight as a builder on the side?' I stared at him.

'Something like that,' he admitted. 'I worked for Duo's friend Howard all the way through university. He's a builder who specialises in restoring old houses and he taught me a lot.'

'You know, I find the idea of you with an electric drill kind of hot,' I teased, delighted when he laughed back at me.'

_Mmm, not to mention a pair of those baggy builders' trousers sliding down to show your butt…_

'Back then, I still wanted to be a concert violinist,' he spread his hands in front of him and grinned. 'I was terrified of hurting my hands somehow, so I mostly did painting, and some of the office work. In my final year, I'd given up on that idea, so I learned to do a bit of everything. Duo and I did most of the work on my house; it was in a terrible state when we moved in, and we totally renovated it.' He grinned. 'My grandmother wanted to buy me a modern apartment, but I just fell in love with that house. We had so much fun doing it up; getting to do what exactly what we wanted and try out all sorts of decorating techniques.'

_Quatre, please don't talk about techniques - any techniques - when we're alone in a house together._

'Do you mind, that being a professional violinist didn't work out?' I wouldn't have asked except he'd sounded quite relaxed talking about it, not like he'd lost his one dream.

'Oh, no! I did a tour with the university orchestra in third year and I absolutely hated it. I was so scared of performing in public that I got sick before every performance; the solos were the worst, and I hated living out of a suitcase and moving on every day. Then I discovered that I love teaching so it all worked out for the best.'

'Good.' I couldn't help wondering how he felt about private performances. 'Now, my bedroom's through here.'

'You've got a futon,' he exclaimed happily when he saw it. 'I've never slept on one of those.'

'Well, we'll have to see what we can arrange,' I murmured, thinking that if I ever succeeded in getting him on my futon, he certainly wouldn't be getting much sleep. 'Now, this is Leo.' I winkled my cat out of the bottom of my sleeping bag, and tickled him under the chin. 'Leo, this is Quatre. Be nice to him, OK?'

'He's gorgeous,' Quatre scratched his ears, and Leo purred happily. 'I think he likes me.'

'Of course he does. He has excellent taste; how could he not fall a victim to your fatal charm?'

'I don't have any fatal charm!'

'Oh, yes you do, honey. And I should know, considering I'm a hopeless victim to it.' I winked. 'If you sit down, I'll let you hold him.'

Leo - ungrateful beast - sat stiffly upright for a minute, before deciding to indulge the new human, and sprawling all over Quatre's lap, offering his tummy to be petted.

'He's drooling! I've never seen a cat do that before!'

'Some of them do. And I don't blame him,' I teased, delighted when Quatre only laughed. Leo, deciding he'd been gracious to the inferior species for quite long enough, jumped down, shook out his back legs, and then stalked disdainfully out the door.

Even my cat apparently wanted to leave us alone together. I couldn't help wondering how Wufei was keeping Cathy outside for so long; he'd probably had to tie her up. I flopped down on the futon, feeling all the muscles in my back and neck protest. They'd had a rough twelve hours, what with painting and furniture removal.

'I'm going to have to paint the ceiling in here too. We were in such a rush yesterday to get all the walls done in time for me to move in that we didn't get everything done.'

'I can help,' Quatre offered.

I groaned. 'Now I've got all kinds of visions of you climbing ladders with one of those sexy tool belts around your waist. Do you have one?'

'Well, yes,' he admitted, letting himself fall back on the mattress beside me. 'But I don't show it to people until the fourth date, at least.'

'One more to go, then, assuming this is a date. I thought we could have dinner later, if you don't mind hanging around for a few hours first while I get settled in. Or you could go and come back; there's a guy from the 'phone company coming so I have to stay here.'

'I'll stay,' Quatre decided, moving just a fraction closer, enough for our hands to touch, and fingers to entwine. Maybe it was just sheer exhaustion on my part that I didn't want more, but just that little bit of contact felt wonderful.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer - all the usual stuff. I dont own GW or the animals in this story. Shame really...

Many thanks to Kaeru Shisho for editing, Meg of the Moon for the DNA suggestion, and everyone who's been reviewing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 12:**

'You have absolutely no idea how much I hate to say this,' Trowa groans, lifting his mouth from mine, 'but we should probably go back out, before my sister bursts in to check on us. Or before Wufei comes in to check that we're not corrupting his innocent futon.'

'Are we?' I stroke those long bangs back from his forehead, the way I've wanted to do ever since we first met, loving the feel of the hair slipping through my fingers.

'I think this counts as … corruption, yes.' After one last, lingering kiss, Trowa gets to his feet and pulls me up. 'Come on. I'll try to get rid of them as soon as possible. I should warn you, Cathy's probably going to try to interrogate the hell out of you.'

'That's all right. I've got sisters of my own; I'm very good at deflecting enquiries.'

That particular skill comes in very useful over the next hour or so, as I neatly dodge Catherine's queries and ask her questions about puppy-rearing instead. She's passionate about animals and I think it also helps to remind her that I'm a customer at the veterinary practice, as well as her brother's - boyfriend? If that's what I am.

It's still something of a relief when she gets up to leave, kissing my cheek as she walks out, and telling me we have to meet up sometime for a 'nice, long chat'. As she makes that comment, she casts a significant look in Trowa's direction, leaving no doubt whatsoever about what the subject of this chat…

The next couple of hours are rather pleasant; we carry in boxes from Trowa's and Wufei's cars, and arrange Trowa's massive book collection in piles against one of the walls. It's obvious that those two have been friends for years, teasing and providing the perfect foil for each other's sense of humour.

'There are wonderful inventions called bookshelves, you know,' Wufei remarks, dumping a pile of veterinary texts in the middle of the floor.

'I have heard of them,' Trowa muses. 'I don't really get the point, though. It's just as easy to stack the books like this.'

I laugh, although I'm not entirely sure if he's joking or not.

'The scary thing, believe it or not, is that he's being serious,' Wufei tells me. 'In case you haven't noticed, Trowa is the most anti-materialistic person in the universe. If it can't be read or used to take photographs, he isn't interested. In first year at university, he lived out of a rucksack for the first two semesters.'

'I was only eighteen then!' Trowa defends himself. 'And anyway, it made perfect sense. Why bother wasting time putting stuff away when it was perfectly accessible in the bag?'

I start to laugh. 'You and Duo are going to get along perfectly. He has exactly the same attitude.'

'Honestly, I have improved a bit since then. You saw my bedroom; everything nicely put away.' He grins at Wufei. 'And you should see _his _apartment, Quatre. I swear, even his cereal packets are filed away alphabetically and cross-referenced.'

Wufei snorts at that. 'Honestly, Quatre, I hope you'll be a good influence on him.' He gives an approving glance to the books I've been arranging neatly. 'You should have seen where he was living a couple of months ago; he had a sleeping bag and a camping stove and that was pretty much it.'

'Well, I was only there for a short time,' Trowa defends himself. 'There wasn't any point in getting too comfortable. And Quatre's a very good influence. I've known him less than a week and I have my own place with actual furniture and I'm already contemplating DIY projects to improve things.'

Wufei is starting to tease him about watching house makeover shows on TV, when my 'phone rings.

'Oh, hey Quat,' Duo chirps. 'I just wanted to check that you're at home. Heero and I are on our way back from the Pet Providers Store, and we got that stuff you wanted for Maggie. We can drop it off on our way home, if you want.'

'I'm at Trowa's,' I mutter into the 'phone, walking into the hallway. 'You _knew _I was going to see his new apartment. I told you at least three times yesterday.'

'Did you?' he enquires, all innocence. 'I must have forgotten. Still, we can drop the things off to you there; we just need to put them in your car.'

'Or I can save you a trip out of your way,' I suggest helpfully. 'I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning anyway; can't you just give me the things then?'

'Oh, come on! You know we're both dying to check out the new guy. Pleeeease! Come _on, _Kitty-Quat. Either you let us call by, or Heero's probably going to set up surveillance outside the house.'

'Fine!' I huff, giving in. 'It's number 3, Sycamore Lane. Call me when you're outside. And you needn't think you going to be coming in because you're not.'

He bursts out laughing. 'I hope you don't say things like that to Trowa. See you in a bit, OK?'

'Everything all right?' Trowa asks from the doorway as I put my 'phone away.

'I suppose. That was Duo; he and Heero are going to drop by to give me some things they've bought for Maggie. Basically, it's a pathetic excuse to meet you.'

'They're your friends,' Trowa says easily. 'I can understand that they'd want to meet your new boyfriend. Besides, you had to put up with Cathy trying to give you the third degree when you got here.'

I think he says something else after that, but none of it remotely registers.

'Are you?' I ask, not quite meeting those green eyes and glancing around to make sure that Wufei is still in the living room, out of earshot. 'My new boyfriend?'

'Oh!' Trowa looks slightly discomfited for once. 'Shit! Sorry, Quatre. That sort of slipped out; I was going to ask you properly this evening. I'd really like to keep seeing you, if you're remotely interested.'

'I'd love to go out with you.' I say in a rush, before he starts to convince himself I'm not.

'And stay in with me sometimes as well?' He teases. 'Good. I was hoping you weren't the sort of guy to lie on just anyone's futon.'

'Absolutely not,' I laugh back at him. 'I'm very picky about whose futons I lie on.'

Poor Wufei is totally forgotten for the next few minutes - although the possibility of lying on his futon is admittedly lurking in the back of my mind - and we only pull apart when the doorbell rings.

The next hour is spent helping to sort out telephone cables and extensions, and when the man from the telephone company leaves, Duo and Heero arrive. Of course, Trowa politely asks them in, and Duo immediately accepts, winking at me as he enters.

After we introduce our respective friends, Trowa offers to make coffee.

'Oh, that would be great,' Duo accepts happily, ignoring the Heero-standard glare that I'm directing at him.

Honestly.

Am I never going to have a chance to be alone with my boyfriend? Wufei had just been saying that he needs to leave and now he's apparently ensconced for another hour.

Life would be so much simpler if neither of us had any friends.

'Actually,' my so-called best friend chips in, 'why don't you come out with me for a minute, Quat? We can get the stuff moved to your car while the kettle's boiling.'

'Very subtle,' I comment, following down the garden path. 'You could just have stuck a sign over your head, saying you needed to talk to me.'

'I don't do subtle,' Duo shrugs, opening their car and handing me a huge bag of dog biscuits. 'Well, how's it going?'

'Well. Really well, actually.'

_Yes, it would be quite perfect if we could maybe have some time alone together.._

'Cool! And he's crazy about you!' Duo grins. . 'Come on! I saw the way he was looking at you. And he's really hot in those jeans! He works out, right?' He takes out another bag of rawhide chew toys, and a couple of rubber bones. 'It's nice to see what he's been hiding under that baggy white coat he wears at the surgery, right?'

'He is gorgeous, isn't he?'

_Especially in those faded jeans that cling just a little too tightly in certain places, and that black vest…_

'Oh yeah!' His grin stretches wider as I blush. 'Wow! You really fancy him, don't you?'

'Yes, of course, I do! It's just….'

'Yeah?'

'I really like him,' I say haltingly.

'And that's a problem why exactly?'

'It's not a … problem. It's just….. I've told him a couple of times that I want to take things slowly at the start, and he's said that he's fine with that.'

'So what's the problem if you're both on the same wavelength?' Duo looks puzzled, for a second, and then his expression clears suddenly. 'Ah! You're not so sure if you want to keep going slowly anymore, is that it?'

I nod, scuffing the pavement with my heel. 'I think so. We were …on the futon in his bedroom earlier and oh, Duo! You'll never guess the stupid thing I said when I saw it! I actually said I'd never slept on one before!'

'Oh, that's hilarious,' my best friend informs me when he's slightly recovered from his hysterics. 'The poor guy! I mean, you tell him you're not ready for anything serious and then you go around diving under tables and making suggestive remarks all over the place.'

'I know! Anyway, we were on the futon, and kissing, and I just…I wanted to do more than that.'

'Well, you could, you know, just tell him how you feel,' he suggests. 'Come on, Quat, it's not like he's going to be offended if the really hot blond he's dating says he's ready for a bit more action?'

I sigh. 'I know he likes me, and I know I should just be honest but.. . Maybe he'll think I've just been teasing him, or playing hard to get or something. And there's another thing; I haven't been with anyone for over a year at this stage.'

Duo gives me an odd glance. 'What, you think you've maybe forgotten what to do?'

'No!' Oh dear, I hadn't even thought of that. 'I'm just scared that maybe it's, well, just a physical thing.'

He shakes his head firmly. 'Don't be stupid. You've been single for a while, but it's not like there haven't been plenty of guys trying to pick you up. Some of them were really fit, too. Have you been remotely interested in any of them?'

'I suppose not.'

'I think you like this guy. I think you like him a lot, and I think that scares you, because you've been hurt before and you don't want that to happen again. That's normal, Quat. After Solo died, I didn't think I'd ever let myself fall for anyone again.' He shrugs. 'Life goes on, you know? I still miss Solo, but I know he'd want me to be happy, and I know you can get past all the shit Simon pulled on you.'

'I'm trying,' I say quietly. 'It's just - it's difficult, isn't it? I _do_ like Trowa but I've known him less than a week, and I've been telling him ever since first day that I don't want to rush into anything, and now….' I let my voice trail off. 'now I'm not sure if maybe I do, after all.'

'So…let's get this straight. You've been falling all over yourself since you met, telling him you want to take things all nice and slow. He's probably terrified to pounce on you in case you take off and he never sees you again. If you want more, you'll either have to tell him, or else make it very, very clear in some other way. You got me?' He gives me a huge, shit-eating grin.

'And another thing. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of teasing, you know. Seriously, I don't think you realise just how much you've got going for you, Quat. It's not just that you're cute; you come across as being all pure and innocent and I swear, no guy on the planet's going to be able to resist you if you suddenly start coming on to him.'

_You did._

Drat. That's not something I want to think about right now.

'Come on; we'd better go and rescue your cute vet. Heero was talking about getting a DNA sample earlier.'

'_What?_' Oh, dear. Now I have a vision of Heero pulling out clumps of poor Trowa's hair, or trying to get a blood sample. 'Please, Duo, tell me he was only joking.'

Duo shrugs, perfectly comfortable with his partner's little idiosyncrasies. 'You know Heero. He takes these things seriously. Maybe we should go inside. We don't want that coffee to get cold, do we?'

'Ten minutes,' I say firmly. 'You have ten minutes and then I want you to leave.'

Then I'll just have Wufei to get rid of, and he was planning to leave soon anyway.

Before he witnesses any scenes of debauchery taking place on his futon…..


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me in any shape or form, although I do now have a copy of 'Episode Zero'....

Note; This one is for Snowdragonct and all the guys, for your wonderful hospitality and gifts, and especially to Q and T. You'll be glad to know the first draft of this was written in the Pretty Pink Notebook on my flight home, so I really hope they like it!

Many thanks to KS for editing, in the face of increased computer incompatibility; we really have to start working on the ethernet communication link!

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 13**:

It was a relief when Duo and Quatre came back inside, saving me from an awkward silence that I could have bottled and sold as a weapon of mass destruction. Wufei has never believed in small talk, and Heero obviously didn't either. I was vaguely aware that, as the host, I should be making some sort of effort to get conversation going.

On the other hand, if they both felt uncomfortable enough, maybe they would decide to go, and leave me alone with my boyfriend.

My boyfriend.

Shit. I still couldn't believe I'd just blurted it out like that. I'd planned to cook him dinner and ask him when I'd wined and dined him enough to make him all mellow and receptive. Good food food has always been a good way to get into a guy's pants, let alone his heart. Although I was starting to think that getting into Quatre Winner's heart wouldn't be a bad thing either.

It hadn't mattered though. He'd said yes, and then he'd kissed me back with enough enthusiasm to curl more than my toes.

Heero and Wufei were having an extremely stilted exchange about dog-training. Apparently they both took their dogs to the same obedience school.

'Of course, Shinigami and I are in the advanced class now,' Heero was saying smugly and Wufei's jaw tightened.

I knew that he'd been bringing Nataku to training classes for months, and she still hadn't learned the basics. Or to stop trying to destroy any other life forms who dare to share her environment.

Probably fortunately, the other two came back at the point where Wufei was asking why Heero's dog had such a ridiculous name. Pretty rich for someone whose own pet had been named for a Chinese deity.

Duo was talking animatedly, which seemed to be his natural state of affairs. Quatre looked preoccupied about something, although he flicked me a little smile as he sat beside me.

'This a cool room,' Duo observed happily. 'See, Heero? Other people besides me use the floor as a storage space too! Could you show me around, Trowa? Ow! I think your foot slipped, Quat. You want to be more careful or you might hurt someone.'

He jumped up, ignoring the killer glare that Quatre was aiming in his direction. 'So, Trowa...do I get the guided tour?'

'Sure. It'll only take about thirty seconds though.'

_And_ _then maybe you'll take your anti-social boyfriend and leave us alone together._

'Oh, you've got a cat!' Duo exclaimed as we walked into my bedroom. Futon room really. Before I could stop him, he had Leo scooped up in his arms, and instead of my cat trying to claw his eyes out, which was his usual reaction to excessive human contact, Leo was snuggling happily against him.

'He doesn't normally let people touch him, especially not strangers.' Leo, being a typically perverse cat, was gleefully proving me wrong; his whole body vibrating with loud purrs as Duo tickled his stomach.

Damn. I wanted to do that to Quatre so much. Why the hell couldn' t these people all leave! Maybe if I could just get Duo to come out and say whatever it was he wanted to say, it might speed things along?

'So..is this the bit where you threaten to kill me if I hurt Quatre?'

Duo looked taken aback for about two seconds and then he grinned. 'Not exactly. That's Heero's department, but I'd help him dispose of your dismembered body, and I'd give him an alibi.' He hesitated, pulling Leo's whiskers gently, and it occurred to me that maybe Duo Maxwell wasn't quite so confident as he liked to appear. 'Look, I don't want to interfere or anything, but Quat's my best friend, and he really deserves somebody who'll treat him well.'

'I plan to,' I told him firmly, holding his gaze. 'I know I haven't known him for long, but I really like him. And now I've got an extra incentive to treat him like a prince.'

'Good,' Duo set the cat down. 'You seem like a nice guy, and Shinnie likes you.' The smile broadened. 'And Quat does too.'

'Can I ask you something?' I put out a hand to Leo and received a disdainful sniff before he turned his back on me.

'I guess.'

'Quatre's mentioned his last relationship ended badly.. Duo...his last boyfriend wasn't abusive, was he?'

Duo bit his lip. 'Don't you think you should be asking Quatre about that?'

Ah, _shit._

'Of course I should. But I don't think he wants to discuss it, and I'm not going to force a confidence if he's not ready. Look, you don't have to tell me anything, but if someone's hurt him, then I want to know.'

'Simon wasn't physically abusive,' Duo said flatly. 'He was a manipulative, controlling bastard and he totally destroyed what little bit of confidence Quat had after his family had fucked him over. Quatre was totally dependent on him when they broke up, and we were left to pick up the pieces.'

_Bastard..._

'Like I said,' Duo told me, ' this is something you need to talk about with Quat, not me.'

I nodded; of course he was right, but it plainly wasn't a subject Quatre was comfortable with, and I didn't know him well enough to pressure him.

When we got back to the kitchen, Wufei and Heero were both standing, plainly ready to leave.

'Oh, by the way, Quat, are you still meeting Zechs tomorrow?' Duo asked as we stood in the porch.

Quatre shook his head. 'Not any more. He called me yesterday; he's going to be in Paris for another couple of days.'

Duo grinned. 'Or_ in_ some cute French guy, huh? Well, if you guys aren't doing anything tomorrow, we were going to do a barbeque for lunch. The weather forecast is pretty nice, if you fancy coming over?'

Quatre glanced at me, and I shook my head. 'Sorry, Duo; I've taken too much time off this week; I have to work all day tomorrow.'

_Plus I'm trying to take_ _next weekend off so I can take your best friend away somewhere nice and private away from all of these distractions....and maybe work on lowering his resistance a little bit....  
_

'I'd like that,' Quatre accepted. 'What time shall I come over?'

In the flurry of goodbyes, we somehow all got to the door, and I strongly fought the urge to slam the door on their retreating backs and barricade us inside. Instead, I waved politely until they pulled away and then pulled Quatre into my arms and just held him.

'Right, Mr. Winner. Here's the plan for this evening. Either you let me get cleaned up a bit, and we'll go out for dinner or else we stay in and I'll cook for you. Which would you prefer?'

'I'd love to stay in.' He hesitated. 'But you've been working all day; you probably don't want to have to start cooking a meal.'

'Right answer.' I kissed him gently on that beautiful mouth. 'Don't worry; I'll just make something very quick and simple. You like salmon, don't you?'

He looked just a little uncertain. 'Well, yes. But it's your first night in your new home. Are you sure you wouldn't rather go and celebrate?'

'I can celebrate just as well here with you. I'd sort of like to cook on my first night in my new place.'

_Plu__s I've finally got you alone and I'd rather stay in and enjoy that..._

I got Quatre installed on a rickety stool by the kitchen table as I started to chop herbs for a pasta sauce. Despite the fact that I'd only just moved in, the place was already starting to feel comfortable. I got us a beer each, put on some music, and started to relax.

_My first night in my place...with my perfect boyfriend. _

'Wow.' Quatre's eyes were huge as he watched me wield the knife on the chopping board. 'Did you learn how to do that at the circus?'

I laughed. 'I guess. When I was a kid, my ambition was to be a knife-thrower. I used to practise for hours. It still comes in handy when I'm cutting up stuff.' I rinsed the chopped herbs and stirred them into the sauce and gave hm a spoonful to taste.

'This is delicious, Trowa. How did you learn to cook like this?'

'At the circus, mostly. We had a big communal kitchen and everyone took turns helping out. When I moved in with Dad and Cathy, I did most of the cooking. I don't think my Dad even knew how to turn on the stove, and Cathy can heat up canned soup but that's about it.'

'I'm rather like that,' he admitted. 'I've been living mainly on toasted sandwiches since Duo moved out.'

'Then I'll have to teach you a few things.'

_Yeah, and I might even show you how to cook one day if we're really bored._

'Can you hand me the parsley? No, the other one; the one on the left. Thanks. I just need to add this and then we're done.' I gave the sauce one final stir, and set it to simmer, placing the marinaded salmon under the grill. 'Now, can I get you another beer? Or I can open some wine, if you'd prefer?'

'I shouldn't, really. I still have to drive home later.'

'No, you don't.'

There; I'd said it. For once, my brain and my body were in perfect agreement. All of me wanted him to stay.

'You could sleep over and see how much you like my..futon. If you liked.'

'I can't, Trowa, not tonight.'

_Damn._

Still, at least he sounded genuinely regretful about it.

'It's Dorothy's first night in my house. I can't leave her alone, and then there's Maggie; she's used to sleeping in my bed.'

_I could get used to sleeping in your bed too..._

'I think I'm starting to feel jealous of your dog.'

'You don't have to be.' His big blue eyes danced gleefully as he slid off his stool, wrapping both arms around my waist and brushing his lips across the back of my neck. 'I've never done this with Maggie.'

'I should hope not. Or I'd have to report you to the proper authorities.'

'Mmm?' He let me a feel a little flick of his tongue against my skin. 'This is nice. I've never had a boyfriend cook me dinner before.'

_Get used to it._

_Like I could get used to having you around.._

'It_ is_ nice,' I affirmed. He just kept surprising me, didn't he? Athough if the evil ex had been as controlling as Duo claimed, maybe he needed to be the one in charge? And I was quite happy to go along with that; quite happy to go alone with whatever he wanted. 'You know, if you keep doing that, there isn't going to _be_ any dinner.'

I grabbed the grill just before the salmon started to smoke, and hoped he didn't mind his food being rather on the well-done side.

'It might be worth it.' He pulled back a little, resting his head against my back. 'I don't have to go for a while yet. Maybe after dinner, we could give your futon a ...preliminary trial. Furniture compatibility is very important.'

Dinner was a bit of a non-event after that. It was hard to cook with a blond distraction snuggled up against me. Quatre praised my cooking politely, as he pushed his charred salmon and overcooked pasta around his plate, and occasionally even lifted a forkful to his mouth; I apologised for the food being pretty inedible. I think we lasted maybe five minutes at the table, and he was the one who stood up first.

It was still hard to believe that I'd enticed my dreamy blond into my bed - well, my best friend's futon, to be exact - so easily. That I had him sprawling under me on top of my mismatched flannel sheets.

Quatre was every bit as gorgeous as I'd imagined, and I'd spent a significant portion of the past week imagining just what he'd look like minus clothing. Not that he was minus all of it, unfortunately, but he'd let me pull down his jeans, and he'd tugged off his own shirt somewhere during our exodus from the kitchen. God, but his skin felt good against mine; taking my cue from him, I'd left just my briefs on and that was probably for the best. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle us both being totally naked at this stage. I wasn't sure exactly how far he wanted to go, however comfortable he was starting to feel with me, and there was no way I was going to abuse that trust.

He had the most sensitive nipples in creation; writhing on the bed when I used my tongue and practically jerking off the mattress when I started to suck.

_OK, maybe jerking off wasn't the best phrase to get lodged into my mind. _

There was still no reason to start harbouring unrealistic expectations. Even if we _were_ both next door to naked, and quite plainly enjoying the fact. He'd made it very clear to me just what his boundaries were and I had no intention of overstepping them until he told me otherwise.

Even if it was starting to be impossibly hard, in every meaning of the word, and if he was being far more adventurous than I'd dared to imagine. I let him flip on top and glide his sweet, sweet way down my chest, lavishing my skin with all sorts of attention from that gorgeous mouth and those fingers which had an unerring knack of finding my most sensitive spots.

'Trowa,' he gazed appealingly up at me, and then his stunning blue eyes shifted, focusing between my legs, and one hand finding out just how - hard - I was finding this.

_Oh, dear God, please don't let me have the wrong end of the stick this time....after all he'd said about wanting to take things slowly, surely he wasn't offering to go down on me, just like that...  
_

'May I?' he added, ever so politely, sliding lower down my body so his face was at the exact level as my crotch. And his warm breath was drifting across the most sensitive part of my anatomy.

_Slowly, Barton. You know he doesn't want to rush things. He probably means something totally different and you're just misinterpreting all the signals and he'd be furious if he knew what you were thinking....  
_

'Please?'

I managed a jerky little nod; still not one hundred percent what I was agreeing to, but whatever he wanted was fine. And if he really wanted to put that gorgeous mouth in close proximity to my cock, then I wasn't going to stop him.

Then he clarified matters by tugging down my briefs and swallowing me down fully, and proving that my angelic-looking boyfriend knew his way around a very competent blowjob. He was just a little hesitant, after that first move, which somehow made it all the more appealing, but he definitely knew all the right things to do with his fingers and his hot, swirling tongue and he could deep-throat like his life depended on it.

Wow.

After I'd come, I somehow pulled myself together to shift between his legs and slide down his silky blue shorts. God, he was just as fine and elegant there as everywhere else. Perfect all over. And very definitely a natural blond.

'May I?' I felt him laugh softly as I echoed his earlier request, and then rolled him over to pay back the favour, taking my time about it. Mapping out all the little places that made him moan and gasp and squirm and beg and he panted my name when I finally let him climax.

'Thank you,' he said softly, tucking himself against my side, and sliding an arm around my waist.

Damn, but that felt good.

Such charming manners.

'Thank _you_, honey. You were incredible.'

The cutest little smile drifted across his face.

'I really hate to say this, but I should be going soon.'

I hated the idea of him going. On the other hand, I could get very, very used to the idea of him coming like that on a regular basis. And if he stayed for a bit, we could have a little sleep and then maybe go for round two.

'Stay for just a little bit longer, OK? It's still pretty early.'

'OK,' he sighed and snuggled closer. I don't know which of us dozed off first; a long day capped by mindblowing sex tends to do that to a guy.

Quatre woke me in the most pleasant way possible, flicking his tongue gently around my ear.

'Trowa? It's after ten. I'm so sorry, but I really have to go now.'

'Mmmm,' I dragged myself out of bed, and followed him out to the hall, yanking my jeans on as I went.

He spun around at the front door to kiss me goodbye, showing me just how sorry he was that he had to go.

'You'd better leave now, honey, or I'll drag you back to my bedroom and this time I'll never let you go.'

_But I'll make you come as often as you possibly can._

'Really?' He looked positively enchanted, the little minx.

'Really,' I growled, grabbing him and wrapping both arms around him, tightly enough to make him squeak. Damn, but it felt good. I'd never really seen the point of hugging before; something you endured from relations and female friends, but I could get to like the feel of Quatre in my arms.

'It's not doing much for my ego, you know, that you're abandoning me to spend the night with a girl and a dog.'

'I'd prefer to spend it with you.' He stroked the bangs back from my forehead with one hand. 'May I call you in the morning?'

'Sure. I have to be in work by seven, but you can leave a message if I'm busy and I'll call you back.'

_And maybe we could schedule another futon experiment?_


	14. Chapter 14

Note - advance apologies to all fans of Dorothy Catalonia and/or Chihuahua dogs. No Cairn Terriers were harmed during the writing of this chapter.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 14:**

I did it.

Those three words are reverberating in my brain as I drive home.

I haven't been with anyone since Simon and I broke up. Physically, I haven't really been tempted, despite the fact that Zechs and Duo have been producing a variety of ....enticements over the past few months. I'd thought Simon cared about me. Up until the end, I'd believed that everything he'd done had in some way proven just how much he'd felt about me.

I'd been a stupid, gullible fool and one of the worst things about the whole awful affair was that it had made me doubt my own judgement of people. It had taken months afterwards to get to the point where I even felt comfortable making new friends, let alone start thinking about another relationship.

With Trowa, it had been different from the start. I'd felt at ease around him, right from the moment when I'd met him at the surgery. Maybe that was a part of it; he'd come across as capable and competent and kind from the beginning. He'd been honest about how he felt, but he'd also understood why I wanted to take things a little bit slowly.

I wasn't sure quite where we stood now, what he'd expect the next time we met. I couldn't expect him to go back to the occasional kiss after what we'd done, but I wasn't really sure how much more I was ready for.

In retrospect, maybe I have rushed things just a little. Or a lot.

I hadn't meant to. I seriously hadn't meant to take things remotely that far. But being in his kitchen had felt so right and natural and comfortable...

Anyway, it had felt wonderful. He'd been so understanding and patient that I'd wanted to give him that one thing. That he'd wanted to reciprocate had just been a wonderful surprise. I hadn't expected that he'd want to do that. Simon had liked getting oral sex, but he'd never been too keen on giving it. Trowa, on the other hand, had genuinely seemed to enjoy it...

And I certainly had, both times. Oh, ,very much. I can't stop smiling. I've missed that feeling of after-sex euphoria, where anything is possible.

So maybe it hadn't been a mistake? I want so very badly just to turn the car around and drive back to him. Instead, I keep on the road home, hoping that Dorothy will be in bed. After the first weeks of missing Duo terribly when he moved out, I've come to enjoy having the place to myself.

Now, I just want to take Maggie and go straight to bed, so I can relive every second of the evening.

However, every light in the house is blazing as I walk up the path, and there are still suitcases in the hallway, some spilling clothes.

How in the world can one woman generate so much chaos?

Dorothy is sprawled on the couch, painting her toenails and surrounded by magazines, a half eaten plate of congealed pasta, and the box of truffles that my sister Aliciia had sent me from Belgium for my birthday. Her nasty little dog is lurking under my coffee table, growling as I approach and slobbering all over Maggie's favourite chew toy.

'Oh, there you are,' she greets me, shaking her bottle of nail varnish vigorously enough that some falls on to the couch. 'You never told me that you'd be staying out this late. I hope you're going to be more considerate in future. I made you dinner and everything and it's all ruined.'

What? _I'm_ supposed to be considerate while she is destroying my furniture?

'Please don't do that,' I say before I can stop myself.

'Whatever. I'll get a tissue and clean it off in a minute.' She shrugs. 'Stop being so gay about it, Quatre. It's only a tiny little mark. No one will ever see it. I don't know what you're so worried about; this place was a tip when your friend Duo lived here.'

'Duo may have been untidy,' I control my voice with an effort, 'but he was always respectful of my possessions.'

If the woman gives me another of those shrugs, I may have to strangle her.

'And what happened to your TV? Do you have any idea how bored I've been here by myself all night?'

'The TV belonged to Duo,' I force my voice to stay calm; force myself to remember that she's a friend and a guest in my home. 'I'll buy another one when I can afford it. I have plenty of DVDs if you want to borrow one to watch on your laptop.'

She pulls a face. 'They're all really boring. I thought gay guys liked romantic comedies.'

That's fine; just stereotype me.

Actually nowadays we like gory thrillers about serial killers attacking defenceless young women in their friends' houses…

'Dorothy, do you think you could stop your dog doing that?'

'Doing what?' She peers under the table to where Taco is enthusiastically humping a cushion. 'Oh, isn't it so cute when he does that? You know, I think I should get him a little girlfriend. Puppies would be adorable.'

Not in my house. No way is she raising a dynasty of those monsters in my home.

'Where is Maggie, anyway?' I look around for my puppy; it's weird that she hasn't put in an appearance yet. Normally she comes rushing to meet me as soon as I come home. Of course, it's possible that she's taken refuge upstairs from all the chaos.

'Oh,' Dorothy yawns widely. 'She was being really annoying so I put her in that cage you have in the kitchen.'

'It's not a_ cage_! It's a puppy pen, and I only use it if I'm not here. This is _her_ home and she shouldn't be locked up because you couldn't be bothered to play with her.'

'Well, excuse _me,_' Dorothy huffs. 'I was only trying to stop her destroying all of your belongings. She was curled on one of your cashmere sweaters earlier. I don't know if you'll ever be able to have it cleaned properly.'

'I've given her that sweater,' I retort. 'She always sleeps on it.'

I'm fuming as I storm into the kitchen to rescue my poor captive dog. This is never going to work out! I can put up with her mess everywhere, and even her ruining my furniture, and opening my birthday presents, and anything else, but she is not going to abuse poor Maggie.

Duo was right, after all.

This is never going to work.

Poor Maggie is curled into one corner of her pen and needs to be coaxed out. Once I've reassured her that she isn't in trouble, she's enchanted to see me, wriggling into my arms and covering my face with kisses.

Actually, Trowa had done pretty much the same thing earlier. Thinking of that banishes the bad mood. I'm being ridiculous; this is my house, after all. If this isn't working out, all I have to do is to ask Dorothy to leave.

I find Maggie a couple of treats to help make up for her terrible night, and cuddle her on my lap while she eats them. I wonder if Trowa's still asleep; after all, I only left his house twenty minutes ago. On a whim, I dial his number.

'Quatre? Is everything OK?' He sounds drowsy but still concerned.

'I'm fine.' It's bizarre; just hearing his voice calms me down. 'Well, apart from the fact that my house has been invaded by the roommate from hell. It's awful; she had Maggie locked in her pen all night and we're skulking in the kitchen now because we don't want to have to see her.'

'Poor baby,' he chuckles. 'Want to come back over? Maggie can snuggle up with Leo, and we can snuggle up on the futon.' There isn't a trace of drowsiness left in his voice as he makes that particular suggestion, oddly enough.

'I'd love to. Really. But I'm scared to leave Dorothy here by herself. She'd probably burn the house down or something. I'm going to have to ask her to leave, although she doesn't really have anywhere else to go, and I promised her she could stay for a few days. The only thing is, I may end up killing her if she keeps on like this. '

That makes him laugh. 'If you do, I can recommend a very good lawyer to help get you off.'

'I hope it won't come to that. Would you mind having a murderer for a boyfriend?'

'If she's upsetting you that much, I'll help you to kill her. And then we could go on the run together. Just us and Maggie and Leo.'

'That might be fun.' We're both silent for a few moments after that. It's oddly comforting to have him on the other end of the line, just listening to his breathing and knowing that he's there. Then he yawns audibly. 'Oh, Trowa, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you, not when you have to get up so early.'

'Don't be silly. I'm really glad you called,' he says around what sounds like a jaw-breaking yawn. 'Look, I'll talk to you in the morning, OK? You go to bed and try not to stress too much. We'll sort it out tomorrow. My shift doesn't finish 'til seven, so if you do commit any murders, you might want to wait 'til I'm free to help.'

'Oh dear. Don't tempt me.'

'I like tempting you,' he laughs. 'I plan to do a lot of it in the future. Now, go to sleep, sweetheart, and don't worry. If your friend is really stuck for somewhere to stay, and you need a bolthole for a while, you know I've got an available futon.'

'You know, I might just take you up on that if I need to escape.'

'You can take me any time.' And from the warmth in his voice, I can tell that this hasn't been a mistake. Granted, maybe I did rush things a little, and maybe we should have waited but….it still felt amazing. It still feels amazing, actually.

Unfortunately, I still have to go and face Dorothy. Abseiling up the back of the house to my bedroom isn't really practical, especially not with Maggie in tow. Anyway, I have to talk to her. She needs to know I can't put up with this.

Scooping Maggie into my arms, I take a deep breath. I've always hated confrontation.

When I go back to the living room, steeling myself for whatever new outrages Dorothy and the monster dog have perpetrated on my possessions, she is crying, and Taco is nowhere in sight.

'Oh, Quatre. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch,' she sobs, throwing herself into my arms. 'I was so scared here all by myself; I didn't know if you were coming home or not, and I kept imagining noises upstairs. Everything's just been so awful this week; I was thrown out of my home, and then Uncle Dermail cut my allowance in half because his bank is doing so badly, because of those stupid rumours about him dealing with the Mafia, and I don't have anywhere else to go.'

'It's all right, Doro.' I soothe, patting her arm awkwardly. 'Don't cry. Please.'

'I promise, things will be better tomorrow. I'll get up early and clean everything up, and then I'll cook us both an amazing lunch.'

'That's really sweet of you.' Well, what else can I say? Maybe I did over-react a little bit; there are bound to be a few teething problems at first. But it'll be fine, once we're both prepared to compromise a little. 'I'm afraid I'm not going to be here, though; I'm going to lunch at Heero and Duo's.

'Oh.' Her face falls, and for a second I'm tempted to say she can come with me. Duo would kill me if I brought Dorothy along, though. And Heero would probably kill her. 'Never mind; I'll have a nice, quiet day by myself cleaning the house for you.'

Wonderful; now she sounds like the maid.

'Don't be silly. You don't need to do that.'

'Oh, but I want to. You're being so kind to me; it's the least I can do.' She hugs me enthusiastically. 'It's going to be so much fun, living together. I promise, I'll try harder to be a good room-mate. You know, I haven't even asked how your date went. I hope you had a lovely time?'

'Yes, thank you.'

She laughs. 'Is that it? Don't I get even a few more details?'

'We just stayed in and Trowa cooked dinner; nothing too exciting.'

Oh dear, that is _such_ a lie.

'That must have been nice,' she says wistfully. 'You really like this Trowa, don't you? You have to tell me all about him. Did you say he was a doctor?'

'He's a vet, actually. And yes, I do like him. I've only known him for a week or so, but I just feel really comfortable with him.'

'Oh?' Her forehead creases. 'I didn't realise you'd only just met him. I assumed you'd known him for ages.'

I shake my head. 'We met last Sunday. I took Maggie to the surgery for her shots and he was there.'

'That's so romantic, Quatre! I'm really happy you've found someone you like! And I think you're so brave, you know. After everything that happened with the evil Simon, you're still willing to take a chance with someone new. Someone you hardly even know! Isn't it scary?'

'Well,' I hedge, 'I don't exactly want to spend the rest of my life alone.'

'Oh, of course not,' she agrees, frowning slightly. 'But I still think it's incredible that you're such a trusting person.' She sighs. 'I really hope it works out for you this time, Quatre. You deserve someone special.'

I take a deep breath. 'Dorothy, Trowa's not Simon. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I promise.'

'I hope not,' she says fervently. 'Don't take this the wrong way, Quatre. You're my friend and I'm concerned about you; that's all. I saw what you were like after you and Simon broke up, remember? I'd hate to see you go through all that again.' She gives me a bright smile. 'Just ignore me, all right? I know you're not going to rush into anything this time; not until you know this Trowa guy is perfect for you.'

I didn't sleep very well; Dorothy played music for a couple of hours after we went to bed; depressingly dreary songs about women who'd been betrayed by their men.

I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway; our little chat downstairs has done a bang-up job of resurrecting every insecurity that I possess. Perhaps she's right.

So far, I do seem to making all the mistakes I made the last time, with a few extra added for luck.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: they do not, of course, belong to me….

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 15:**

Unsurprisingly, I dreamt of Quatre. I would have to start doing laundry fairly soon, or else buy some extra sets of bed-linen. Still, I put off that chore until I'd called him, just in case he was up for a bout of early morning 'phone sex.

'Hey, gorgeous.'

'Good morning, Trowa,' he responded. I smiled at the formality; such lovely manners. Even when he'd been offering oral sex, he'd remembered to say please.

'Sleep well?'

'Not really.'

'Me neither,' I grinned at the memory; both of our real live sex and the dreams that had followed it. 'I dreamt about you.'

'Oh.'

Well, that wasn't very enlightening.

'Is everything OK?'

'Fine.'

Hmm. Well, maybe he just wasn't a morning person. Although I'd spoken to him before work a few times already this week, and he'd been bright and cheerful. 'Did that Dorothy girl do anything else to upset you?'

'Hmmm? Oh no. We talked last night; I think we've sorted some things out.'

'Good.'

'I should probably let you go,' he said after a few moments' silence. 'I know you have to be at work soon.'

'Quatre, if I did something wrong, I'd really appreciate it if you just told me? You don't have to freeze me out like this.'

'I - just,' he hesitated. 'Maybe we can talk later, when you're not rushing off.'

'Or you could just tell me what's the problem,' I tried to sound concerned, without pressuring him too much.

He was quiet for so long that I wondered if he'd hung up. 'I'll call you later, if that's all right? We can talk then.'

What the fuck was that all about?

OK, I could deal with sensitive and highly strung; I wasn't sure if I wanted to handle three-sixty degree mood swings.

One of the things I'd liked about him was that he'd been honest from the start. OK, the whole sex embargo hadn't exactly been a welcome development, but he'd come straight out and told me what his boundaries were and I'd respected that.

Was that what this was all about? That he was regretting what we'd done?

I was pretty damn sure that he'd initiated it. He'd practically dragged me into the bedroom. Even then, I'd have been happy with a hand job, or bit of mutual fondling. Whatever he was willing to give basically. Instead he'd practically begged to go down on me.

What the hell was I supposed to have done? Turned him down?

And he'd damned well seemed to enjoy it. He hadn't been anywhere near as shy as I'd somehow imagined either. Instead, I'd somehow got the impression that he enjoyed taking charge between the sheets.

I fumed about it all the way into work, trying to work out whether I could have offended him somehow, or whether I was just reading the situation wrongly. Damn, but I hated these stupid games. If he had a problem, why couldn't he just tell me?

Cathy was standing in Reception when I arrived, looking over the day's appointments.

'I didn't think you were working this morning.'

'I wasn't,' she yawned widely. 'But Lindsey called in sick; Mark's away for the weekend and there's too much on the work-list for you to cope with by yourself.' She took a page out of the printer and handed it to me. 'Here you go: I've worked out the schedules for next week. If you don't mind working a couple of evening shifts, you can take a half day next Saturday and have Sunday off. Is that OK?'

I shrugged. 'Thanks for that, but it probably doesn't matter any more. I don't think Quatre will want to be going anywhere with me.'

'What?' She gaped at me. 'But you guys seemed to be getting on so well yesterday. What happened?'

'I don't want to talk about it.'

Her face fell and I felt like a total bastard. Damn. This really was my day for pissing people off, wasn't it? She was only making an effort to be interested in me, after all. Quatre would probably have given anything to have one of his sisters wanting to be that involved in his life.

'Sorry,' she muttered.

'No, I'm sorry. You were only asking. Anyway, it was OK, I guess. We stayed in; I cooked dinner for us, we talked for a bit after we'd eaten.'

_For about ten seconds maybe…._

'That sounds fun,' Cathy offered a bit uncertainly. 'Um, why did you say you 'guess', though?'

'Yeah. I thought it was fun. Then I called him this morning and he was, I don't know, just really offhand with me.'

'Well, it was early,' she suggested. 'He was probably still half asleep.'

I shrugged. 'Maybe. But he's usually OK in the mornings. And he said he'd call me later so we could talk.'

'Oh!' She considered. 'Well, maybe that's good. Communication is always good.'

'Yeah, right,' I muttered. God, aren't women supposed to be good at this relationship stuff? 'Trust me, talking is never good.'

Cathy shot me a wicked little grin. 'Anyway, it'll probably do you a world of good to have some guy _not _falling at your feet, for once in your life.'

'What exactly is that supposed to mean?' I demanded. 'I do_ not_ have guys falling at my feet!'

'Oh please,' she snorted. 'I grew up with you, remember? We went to school together for years. All my girlfriends wanted me to set them up with you, even though you were three years younger, and then when you came out, all my _male _friends got interested. So don't you dare tell me you're not used to that sort of attention.'

'Maybe,' I had to admit. 'But it doesn't do me much when the one guy I'm seriously interested in doesn't seem to reciprocate.'

'Oh, don't be stupid,' she snapped. 'Of course he likes you. I saw the two of you together yesterday and he was sneaking little glances at you every time you weren't looking.' She smirked at me. 'I think he liked that vest you were wearing, actually. Or maybe the amount of skin you were showing.'

'Cathy!'

'Just chill out,' she reached out and tugged my bangs gently; something she'd use to do when we were kids. Then it had driven me mad; now, it didn't seem too bad.

'Honestly, I don't think you need to stress too much. It's probably got nothing to do with you.' She bit her lip. 'I know him a little bit, just from him coming in with Duo, and I gather he was really cut up about his last boyfriend leaving him. As far as I know, you're the first guy he's been out with since then; in his place, I'd probably feel a bit off balance as well. He's probably just scared of getting hurt.'

'I'd never hurt him.'

'I know,' my sister told me gently. 'But he doesn't know you that well yet. Don't rush him, Tro. Let him get to know you a little bit better and then I'm sure he'll start to trust you.'

I nodded. 'Maybe you're right.' Damn, I never thought I'd admit something like to my sister, especially not over relationships. 'So ...what should I do? Call him back?'

Cathy shrugged. 'You told me he said he'd call you, right? Just let him say whatever he has to say, and don't pressure him. If he really is falling for you, he probably just wants a little bit of space to figure that out. You two have only known each other a few days, anyway. You don't need to get serious right away. See if you like each other as friends, first?'

I nodded, not entirely comfortable with telling my older sister that my boyfriend and I had already got beyond the 'just friends' stage.

'And lighten up. Maybe he was worried about something totally different? You said he has that girl living with him; it could be that they're not getting on and he's stressed about that.'

'That's true.' I brightened up a little bit. 'That girl - Dorothy - sounds like a real piece of work. And her Chihuahua sounds like a monster.'

'Dorothy?' Cathy's eyes narrowed. 'That wouldn't be Dorothy Catalonia, would it?'

'I think so. Why, do you know her?'

'Oh, I know her,' she informed me grimly. 'Her and her monster dog. The little brute savaged Lindsey's hand last year when he came in for his shots. Lin needed stitches and everything. After that, we asked her to find a new vet.'

'Why didn't you sue her ass off?'

'I wanted to, believe me. But her uncle is Duke Dermail and he plays golf with half the judges in Sanque and he was at school with the other half. Besides, she's Lady Dorothy and you know how stupid people here are over the aristocracy.' She shrugged. 'I mean, half the people in this country still think of the Peacecrafts as royalty and the country hasn't been a monarchy for decades.'

I grinned at that; ranting about Sanque's royalist traditions had always been one of the few things she and Wufei had in common. I'd grown up listening to the two of them going on about it.

'Tro?'

'Yeah?' I turned back to look at her.

'Be careful, all right? I know you don't plan to hurt him, but he's not your usual type, is he? Just listen to him and try to understand where he's coming from. He's a really sweet guy, from what I've seen, and he's already been hurt pretty badly. I'm guessing if he likes you, it's scaring the hell out of him, and he's already taken a chance just by going out with you. Give him some slack, OK?'

'I guess.' I think it was a bit of a relief at that point when the day's first customer rang the surgery bell. I wasn't used to asking for my sister's advice on relationships, wasn't used to talking to her about personal stuff in general.

The next couple of hours were fairly hectic; Sunday is usually a quiet day but for some reason every dog, cat, guinea pig and goldfish in Sanque had chosen that day to need some sort of help.

My cellphone rang just as I was about operate on a German Shepherd that had swallowed half the pieces of a Scrabble set.

'Wufei? This isn't the best time; I'm just about to start a procedure.'

'Well, this is a professional call,' he paused. 'Speaking purely hypothetically, how does one know when is a squirrel is dead, and is there any way it could be resuscitated?'

'_What_? Don't tell me that damn dog of yours has started massacring wildlife as well as domestic pets?'

'It's not my fault,' he said despairingly. 'It's my grandmother; she totally spoilt Nataku and now the creature refuses to accept any form of discipline.'

'Well, maybe you should just keep her on the leash in future?' I suggested, and he grunted.

'According to my grandmother, she needs to run free for at least an hour every day. And if she isn't exercised properly, she is even more destructive than usual.'

I grinned. 'Yeah, I noticed teeth marks on the futon you lent me.'

He snorted. 'I trust that my furniture is still unsullied.'

_More or less._

'Oh, come on. You can't tell me it never saw any action in your apartment!' I teased. 'Relax, Chang. It's as innocent as the day it was made.'

_Well, pretty nearly. _

'So ..how did you like Quatre?'

'I hardly met him for long enough to form an opinion,' he said carefully. Typical lawyer; he never commits himself. 'But he seemed quite taken with you. Very unlike your usual type.'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

And why the hell was he echoing my sister's words?

'Intellect larger than his ego, for one thing. Actually speaks in words of more than one syllable. And doesn't constantly admire his reflection in every possible surface.'

'Hey!' I protested, knowing that I wasn't really on solid ground here. A number of my past boyfriends had fitted that description exactly, and it was perfectly true that Quatre was very different. 'None of them was important,' I told him haughtily. 'It was fun at the time, but Quatre's more than that.'

Shit.

It was true. I did want him to be more than that, and that was bloody scary in itself.

'He's more? How long have _you_ had to get to know him?' Wufei's voice dripped disapproval.

Wufei knew perfectly well how long I'd known Quatre. Why was he being so judgmental?

'You know exactly how long I've known him!' I snapped.

'Precisely six days, isn't it?'

_Seven now, actually._

'And you've met him a grand total of three times. That's hardly long enough to decide how much he means to you.'

Only the intensity of Wufei's voice was scarier, possibly, than thinking about how Q was changing the patterns of my life.

'I thought you said you liked him. I mean, you've actually known him for longer than I have. I don't get why you've got such a problem with this.'

He was silent for a few moments, probably making notes. 'My problem, as you call it, is that I don't see you two as compatible. I only know Quatre very slightly, but he is very unlike the guys you normally date. I think he probably wants something deeper than just a bit of fun.'

'Yeah, well, maybe I want that too,' I snapped defensively.

He snorted. 'Since when? Really, Trowa, I've never known you to be serious about any of the guys you've been with. Even with you found out that Elliott had been cheating on you, it was mostly your pride that got hurt.'

'It's different with Quatre. It just is.'

'That,' my legally-gifted friend informed me, 'is not a valid argument. Not for anyone over three years of age, at any rate.'

'This isn't a courtroom!'

'You don't ask a lawyer for advice unless you want the legal argument! I just think you shouldn't rush into anything until you at least know each other slightly better. I get the impression Quatre's been badly hurt by somebody in the past_. I _know how that feels, but I'm not sure if you do. If you really are serious about him, then I suggest you give serious thought to just how you expect the relationship to develop. Or is it just a physical thing?'

'Of course it's bloody not just physical! '

'Well, well,' he chuckled. 'Trowa Barton, admitting to some sort of deep emotions! I expect your surgery will shortly be inundated with flying pigs.'

'Oh, fuck off,' I muttered. 'Look, I'd better go. I have to remove half the alphabet from a dog.'

'And what about the squirrel?'

God, I've forgotten the poor squirrel. This was what Quatre was doing to me; even making me forget my patients.

'If you think it has any chance at all, bring it in and I'll see what I can do. It might just be in shock. Give it a few minutes and see if it stirs; if there's no movement by then, it's probably a goner.'

_Like me if Quatre doesn't call soon….._

I wasn't sure if I could handle having to wait a whole day for him to call.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer - Not mine.

Note - Many thanks to KS for editing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 16:**

The 'phone rings almost immediately after I'd hung up on Trowa and I pounce on it so fast that Maggie falls off the bed.

'Trowa? I'm so glad you called back. I …'

'It's me,' Duo's voice mutters. 'I wasn't sure if you'd be awake yet. D'you want to come over?'

'Now? It's only seven o'clock.'

'Sure. Heero's gone out. Unless you've got the HVG snuggled up with you.'

'No; I'm by myself. Is it all right if I bring Maggie?'

No way am I leaving her undefended with that Hell Hound of Dorothy's.

Half an hour later; I turn into their drive. I've tried calling Trowa's cell phone several times, and only got his voice mail. In the end I called the surgery. According to the receptionist, Trowa was in surgery and could only be disturbed for an emergency.

Their front door is unlocked; an obvious indication that Heero is still out. Oh, dear. I really hope those two haven't had an argument; not when things have been going so well.

'Hey, Kitty-Quat,' Duo rushes downstairs, Shinnie at his heels. 'Hi Maggie. Who's the most gorgeous girl in the world, hmm? Who's my little princess? Come in to the kitchen, OK? Can I get you some ice cream?'

'Why not?' An unusual breakfast choice, granted, but it's always been Duo's favourite comfort food. We went through massive quantities of the stuff before he and Heero finally got together.

'So where's Heero this morning?' I sit down while Duo rummages in the freezer. Shinnie comes over to give me a quick lick and then returns to his master's side, gazing up at him.

Duo rolls his eyes. 'God knows. Odin called at six and 'Ro just took off. He said he should be back for lunch.' He slams a carton of chocolate fudge brownie ice-cream on the table and tosses a spoon in my direction. 'Anyway, tell me about you and your HVG. Did you have lots of fun with him last night?'

'What? Are you starting to develop psychic powers?'

Duo just laughs. 'I saw the way you two were looking at each other. It was pretty obvious that you couldn't wait to get us out of the way before jumping on each other.'

'We had dinner first,' I defend myself, and then blush, unable to remember if I'd actually eaten anything or not. I'm sure it was delicious, though. But all I can remember is the texture of Trowa's skin, the taste of his desire exploding in my mouth.

'Whoa!' Duo exclaims. 'Earth to Quatre, come in? I guess it was good last night, huh?'

'It was .. pleasant,' I answer with all the composure I can muster.

'Pleasant?' Duo scoffs. 'Quat, pleasant is for a new blend of tea, or something. Not mindblowing sex.' He lifts an eyebrow at me. 'Or was the hot vet not that good in bed?'

'He was incredible,' I say without thinking, and then stop all the pretence. Duo is my best friend; the person I care about most in the world; the one person I can tell anything to. Well, almost anything. 'I - ah - took your advice.'

'Which piece of advice in particular?'

'About making it very clear to Trowa what I wanted.'

'I take it he was receptive then?'

'Very...receptive, yes. Although I don't think he quite realised what I was doing at the start. He was trying to cook us dinner and I was trying to distract him.'

'The poor guy! I mean, he probably didn't know what to think. He must have had this nice smooshy romantic evening all planned out and you were trying to jump his bones!'

'Something like that,' I admit a little sheepishly. 'And could you please stop laughing at me?'

'I'm not laughing at you,' he denies. 'Just the whole situation. And it_ is_ funny, Quat. You're always saying how your dream evening would be for some hot guy to romance you and when it actually happens, you dive straight in for the sex.'

Admittedly, that does sound...rather funny. In a slightly warped way.

'We didn't actually have sex. Not properly.'

He grins. 'That still covers a multitude of possibilities. So what happened? A nice bout of good, old-fashioned oral sex? That's my boy! Who did who?'

'Um.. It was reciprocal,' I confide, checking that Maggie is investigating the kitchen floor first; she is far too young to hear this sort of thing.

'So,' Duo considers, 'if you guys got together and it was that good, what are you looking so miserable about?

'I think it was a mistake. Too soon.' I can't possibly tell Duo that certain doubts were planted in my head by Dorothy last night. To be totally honest, they probably would have appeared anyway. 'I had it all planned out, that we should to know each other properly before anything happened, and now I've ruined everything.'

'I have no idea what you're talking about,' Duo says flatly. 'OK, maybe you rushed things a little bit, but so what? You both had fun, right? And I'm guessing he didn't exactly kick you out of bed afterwards.'

I shake my head. 'He wanted me to stay, and then I called him when I got home, and it felt really good, just to be able to talk to him, even for a few minutes.' It had been wonderful, actually, knowing that somebody who cared about me was just a quick 'phone call away. It hadn't felt like a mistake then.

'So what happened?'

'Oh, I don't know. I was awake most of last night, thinking about it. Seriously, Duo, I hardly know him. I don't know if he even wants a - proper relationship, or if it's just a bit of fun for him.' Duo waits for me to continue, licking his own spoon and letting me organise my whirling thoughts. 'I just feel like we had an understanding and I've destroyed it. How is he supposed to take anything I say seriously after this?'

Duo shrugs. 'I think you're making this into a big deal, you know. Just tell him the rules have shifted slightly, but you still have a few boundaries. I mean, he was OK with that before; what 's the problem?'

'I don't know,' I swallow a spoonful of ice-cream, trying to let the coldness distract me for a few seconds. 'He called me this morning, just before you did, and I was absolutely horrible to him. He'll probably never want to see me again.'

'What did you say?'

'Not very much,' I admit. 'It was just - I was still half asleep, and I'd spent the whole night obsessing about the fact that I'd made a mistake, and I just wasn't prepared to have a conversation. He thought I was freezing him out and he was perfectly right. I'm sure he's furious with me.'

'Well, you've been with way more guys than me, but I'd be pretty ticked off if my boyfriend went down on me, and then refused even to talk to me the next day..'

'That's really helpful, Duo.' I glare at him. 'Thanks a lot.'

'Hey, don't yell at _me_. I'm just playing devil's advocate here. Why did you do it? Honestly?'

'Honestly.... several reasons. I'm not sure if I was actually thinking. I just...it felt _right_, Duo. You know how that is. He just makes me feel so relaxed with him, like I can say or do anything and he'll understand.' I sigh. 'But maybe I'm reading him all wrong. Look at Simon; I thought we were good together once and look how that turned out.'

Duo snorts. 'Stop that. You know perfectly well you weren't happy with Simon for months; you just have this stupid sense of misplaced loyalty and you were determined to make it work. I know you, Quat. You think you see all this good in people and then you don't like giving up on them. That's great, most of the time, but you've got to start thinking about yourself now. And you are normally good at judging people; Simon was just a blip who caught you when you were going through a very bad time. You have to stop beating yourself up over one mistake.'

'Maybe. It was a pretty big mistake though. And it's not like I didn't do some stupid things when I was younger.'

Duo stands and heads for the refrigerator, all that glorious hair sweeping around his face. 'Everyone does stupid things when they're kids. And that wasn't about your ability to judge people, right? It was just sex; it's not like you ever fell for any of them. You were just a bit messed up.'

A bit messed up is an overly generous assessment of what I was like at eighteen. Duo has always been a very good friend.

'One question,' he gives me a very direct look, handing me another carton of ice-cream. White chocolate and raspberry sorbet.. 'How much of last night was about you wanting to get off with him, and how much was wanting to prove you could do it?'

'Mostly the former; a little bit of the latter,' I say honestly. He knows me far too well; I haven't even admitted that to myself yet. 'Oh, God, does that make me a terrible person?'

'It makes you human,' Duo grins. 'It's nice to know you've got a few flaws.'

'I've got plenty of flaws and you know every one of them.'

'And one of them is your way over-developed guilt complex. Quat, I think you should stop making a huge deal out of this, and I especially think you should stop wallowing in guilt that you've used Trowa as some sort of sexual guinea pig, because I can guarantee he won't be complaining.'

'Don't put it like that! You make it sound like he was an experiment on my part.'

'Yeah? That's_ your _interpretation. I'm not judging you, Quat,' he says gently. 'I totally get it. You've been out of the game for months, and I know how that feels. Sometimes it's nice to know that someone wants you; just to give you that little bit of confidence. I never wanted to let anyone get close after Solo died; I know it's hard to get back on the bike again after falling off. '

I concentrate on swirling my remaining ice-cream in patterns around the bowl. 'That's the point; how long did you wait after he died to fall for anyone else? Years? And you knew Heero for ages before you slept together. I've known Trowa for exactly a week and and I've already jumped into bed with him, after telling him I wanted to wait.'

'It's different, Quat. Solo was the only guy I'd ever been with; I'd known him since I was a kid. He was my best friend and all the family I had for years. Simon was a total bastard and you're better off without him.' He reaches over and pulls me into a hug.

'You can't let the fact that he hurt you screw up the rest of your life, OK? And don't get too stressed over Trowa. Sure, maybe he's a little confused right now, but you can talk to him and clear things up a little bit, can't you? Bottom line, you guys really seem to like each other, and that's all that matters.'

'I just felt so happy last night!' I burst out. 'And now I keep thinking that perhaps it was a mistake, and that I should have waited, or at least discussed it and then I just remember what it felt like, the look on his face. I didn't feel like this even when I was with Simon.'

'Aw, you're so cute,' he grins, leaning over to ruffle my hair. 'Our little Kitty Quat's in love.'

'What?'

'Oh, come _on_! You've got every symptom in the book; you do realise that, don't you? You haven't stopped talking about him since you two met? You spent two hours picking out that photo frame for him last week, you're probably doodling his initials all over your music sheets.'

'Duo! You do realise I'm not actually twelve years old,' I defend myself, blushing slightly. 'This isn't just a stupid infatuation; it's more serious than that.' Well, I want it to be more than that, anyway.

'Hah! I knew it!' he crows triumphantly. 'What? It's nice seeing you like this; you're happy, that's all. You were never like this with Simon the asshole, were you?'

'Not really,' I admit. 'I'll think about what you've said and talk to him about what happened. There. Can we change the subject? Talk about something else?'

'What's better than talking about hot guys?'

I put everything necessary into my expression.

'O-kay… Talking of _hot_ guys, who was that cute Chinese guy with the weird name?'

'Wufei? He's Trowa's best friend. They've known each other since they were about twelve.'

He frowns. 'Friend as in friend or friend as in ex-boyfriend?'

'I don't know. Just friends, I think. I don't even know if he's gay.'

'Oh, he's gay all right. Trust me; he was totally checking out Heero yesterday. 'Course, everyone checks out Heero so maybe that 's not the best indicator.'

I raise my eyes. 'I thought Heero was the one with the over-possessive problem.'

Duo shrugs. 'He's just...territorial. Same as me, really. And he might be a bit of a control freak in some ways, but he still trusts me. He doesn't need to know where I am 24/7; he doesn't mind me doing stuff by myself or going out with other people.'

'So, if he's as perfect as all that, are you going to tell me what he's done to annoy you?'

Caught off-balance, Duo just blinks at me. Well, too bad. He can't analyse my life to death and expect me to ignore the fact that something has obviously happened between him and Heero. Fair is fair, even if he'd rather pretend nothing is wrong.

'It just pisses me off sometimes that Odin snaps his fingers and Heero jumps through hoops for him.'

'I know,' I say gently. 'But Odin's all the family he's got, and you know he'd do anything for Heero as well.'

'I suppose,' Duo mutters. 'Not like I'd know anything about the family stuff, would I?'

'Baka,' I tease, borrowing Heero's name for him, and tugging his braid gently. 'You do have family; you've got me and Zechs and Howard and Hilde and 'Lena and everyone at the Maxwell Church. And Shinigami. And Heero, come to that. You know perfectly well that all you have to do is crook your little finger in his direction, and he'd do anything you wanted him to.'

'Hn.' Duo borrows one of Heero's grunts but he's grinning. 'Anyway, about this Wufei guy. I was thinking; maybe we should try to hook him up with Zechs? That 'd get him out of the picture.'

'That's ridiculous.' Isn't it? Of course I trust Trowa. 'And they probably wouldn't even like each other.'

'Oh, get real. Sure, Zechs is going to go for someone like Wufei. And I think you and Heero are the only two guys in the world who've got Zechs immunity.'

It seems that Duo-attraction automatically cancels out Zechs-attraction.

'I'll think about introducing them,' I say, just to stop him going on about it. 'Will that do?'

'I'm only thinking of your happiness,' he says, trying to look hurt. 'The least I can do, right? After all you've done for me. Now, are you going to try calling HVG and grovelling to him?'

'Not exactly.' I look down at the two dogs our feet; Shinnie is waving his feathery tail and she's trying to pounce on it. 'I think Maggie is looking a little off colour, don't you? Maybe I should take her to the vet for a quick check up?'


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer - as per usual.

Note - as per usual, thanks to KS for editing, and to everyone who's been reviewing.

**Trowa's POV:**

My day just got progressively worse after my conversation with Quatre.

By nine-forty-five, I'd had to tell a distraught family, kids and all, that their much-loved, elderly beagle wasn't responding to his new medication, and that we were pretty much out of other options. A volunteer from the local shelter had brought in two tiny puppies that had been found abandoned on the motorway. One of them was too far gone to save; the other might have a ghost of a chance.

Then I'd spent half an hour trying to convince a woman that her pug's breathing problems were caused by it being obscenely overweight. She'd nodded to all my points, and then scooped up the animal and gave it half a bar of chocolate for being such a good doggie…

There are times when I hate my job.

I was just heading for my badly-needed coffee break when our receptionist snagged me, and asked if I could fit in one more client.

It was Quatre. It was total déjà vu to our first meeting, exactly one week ago. Except he wasn't just the cute guy with the adorable puppy any more. I wasn't sure what he was now.

'Hardly good karma, is it? To pretend your dog is sick?'

'I didn't exactly say that,' he said quietly. 'I just told your receptionist that Maggie was one of your patients and that I needed to see you.'

'This isn't exactly a good time. I have plenty of actual patients who need attention.'

OK, maybe I was being a bit harsh on him, but why should he get to call all the shots? I'd gone along with every damn thing he'd wanted so far, and it had obviously been a mistake. Now, he just thought he could swan into my workplace and I'd fall all over him. Sorry, Quatre. Not how it works.

'I'm so sorry,' he said quickly. 'I've been trying to call but your 'phone was switched off and when I called here they said you weren't to be disturbed. And I'm - really, really sorry about the way I treated you this morning,' he added tremulously, peeking up at me through those absurdly thick lashes.

Shit, I was such a goner. All he had to do was to look at me like that, and I forgot I'd ever been angry with him. He murmured another soft apology and that was all it took for me to fold him in my arms. It felt every bit as good as it had before; he held himself stiffly for a few moments, and then just melted against me.

'I was scared that you'd never want to see me again,' he confessed.

'You're way too cute for me to decide that.' OK, maybe I'd been considering that very thing not too long ago. But he was here, and apparently sorry, and maybe I'd just over-reacted a bit. God, that was scary. Maybe this one wasn't going to be so easy to walk away from, even with all the emotional baggage he seemed to have?

'You have got to tell me what I did wrong, all right? I've been beating myself up trying to work out what I did to upset you.'

'You didn't do anything!' He pulled back slightly to look at me. 'I swear, Trowa, it was all my fault.'

'I thought we were cool last night,' I slid one hand up his back and rubbed gently. 'You seemed fine when you left; even when you called me after. I guess you started to regret it once you got home and reality kicked in a bit, hey?'

He gave me a startled glance; well, well, who'd have thought it? Cathy had been right after all.

'It's just - well, I haven't been with anyone since Simon. Last night, with you, was the first time for me in months..'

'You're kidding me, right?'

He shook his head. 'I thought I'd told you that.'

'Well, yeah, but I thought you meant that there hadn't been anyone serious. Really, there's been no one at all?'

He shook his head.

Shit. I couldn't imagine that. The first thing I'd done when I'd found out Elliot had cheated on me was to go to a bar and pull the hottest guy I could find. No way could I imagine actually being celibate for a whole year.

It was sort of flattering to know I was the one who'd tempted Quatre out of his ivory tower. Although if I hadn't got any for a year, I'd probably jump on the first vaguely presentable guy I met.

'You are attracted to me, right?'

He nodded. 'I thought I'd - um, proved that last night when we, you know…' he stuttered finally, cheeks blazing.

'Rule number one.' I said gently. 'If you can do it, you can talk about it, OK?'

He swallowed. 'Yes then, I find you very attractive.'

'Good. Here's the thing, Quatre. I get that you were hurt by your ex; I get that it's probably hard for you to start trusting people again. I'm not going to rush you into anything you don't want, but I'm not going to play games with you either, OK? I can live with this whole sex prohibition, so long as I know that this _- thing _between us - is going somewhere.' I cupped his chin in one hand, making him look up at me. 'I'm not pressuring you. I just need to know there's light at the end of the tunnel, that's all.'

'There is.' He placed his hand over mine, a warm, gentle press of skin to skin. 'I really do like you. I am very attracted to you. I just got a bit panicked about things this morning. I'm sorry.'

'Stop apologising, honey. It's OK. I got a killer blowjob from you last night; I guess I can deal with you being a bit cranky the morning after.'

'Oh! I'm - not normally like that. Honestly.'

Heh heh. There was that cute blush again. Weird; he'd gone down on me like his life depended on it, but he got embarrassed talking about it. Well, we could work on that. He probably just needed some practice.

'Ah, what's your rule number two?' I think he just said it for something to say, but it gave me the perfect opening.

'If you get upset about something, tell me. Seriously, I couldn't figure out whether you were pissed off earlier because I didn't fight you off last night, or because I didn't try to pressure you into something more. Even if you have a problem and you don't want to discuss it, just let me know there's something wrong.'

'I'll try,' he said quietly.

'No, Quatre. I mean it. I don't do all these stupid games some people like. Not ever. I've always been honest with my partners and I expect the same from them. If you want to back up a few steps, and take things slowly, I can do that. But you have to tell me, right? And stick to it.'

'I'm sorry,' he muttered, and I had the passing thought that maybe I could start harnessing his skin to some sort of generator. All those blushes could probably power up half the city. Or possibly start fining him every time he apologised. 'I've been an idiot, haven't I?'

'Well, you did jump my bones the minute we were by ourselves, after all the stuff you'd told me about wanting to go slowly. And now we're straight back to square one.' I grinned suddenly. 'Yeah, that probably makes you a bit of an idiot.'

'You…don't mind?'

'I'm not exactly ecstatic about it, which you can take as a compliment. But I probably won't spontaneously combust if I don't get laid for a while. Listen, I'm not regretting last night. It was fucking amazing, and I want to do it again. But I guess I can wait a bit. I assume some things are still allowed?' I bent my head until my mouth was almost touching his, watched his tongue dart out to lick his lips. 'Kissing, say?'

'Y-yes.' He stammered it slightly; good. Oh, he wanted me all right; I just needed to work my way past all those inhibitions and bad memories, and show him how good it could be. I could do that.

'A little bit of above the waist action?' I ran one hand from his hip to rest on his shoulder, not-so-accidentally brushed one of his nipples on my way up.

He didn't give me a verbal reply to that one, but his breath hitched, and he arched against my hand. OK, that was more than good enough.

'You know, I'll probably regret saying this, but the next time you're feeling horny, maybe you should tell me exactly what you want, instead of just pouncing on me. So we can discuss it a little bit.'

'I will,' he snuggled back against my chest, and my arms tightened around him. 'I should let you go, shouldn't I, if you're so busy?'

I grinned. 'I'm officially on my coffee break, and then I've got three cats in to be neutered. They won't complain if I'm a few minutes late.'

'I can imagine,' he smiled up at me. 'I'm so glad I decided to come to see you now. I was going to wait, but I wanted to apologise.'

'I'm glad you did too. Quite the little strategist, aren't you? Using your dog to get in here? Actually, she's quieter than usual today,' I commented, glancing down at Maggie who was sitting by the door, dark eyes fixed on us both.

'I know,' Quatre bent down and the puppy jumped into his arms. 'I think she's a bit confused by Dorothy moving in. She was really clingy this morning; usually when she wakes up, she wants to play with me, and today she just wanted to be cuddled. She didn't want to go downstairs by herself either.'

'That's odd. I can't imagine waking up in bed with you and not wanting to play. Although I guess I could just go for being cuddled.'

'Trowa!'

'What?' I tried for the innocent look he could pull of so well, but I'm not sure if it worked. Well, the fact that I was openly leering at him probably didn't help. 'You're officially my boyfriend now. I'm allowed to make suggestive remarks. And I wouldn't worry about Maggie; she's probably a bit disorientated by your new house guests.'

I took Maggie from him and ran one hand over her. 'She's used to having you all to herself, so her nose might be a little bit out of joint, especially if your friend has a dog too. Just make sure she gets plenty of attention and she should be fine.'

_Heh heh. Just like me, actually._

It suddenly occurred to me that maybe Quatre was feeling the need of a little attention too. He didn't exactly come across as high-maintenance, given that he seemed to be perfectly happy to watch movies at home by himself, but he'd probably like having an attentive boyfriend lavishing him with some loving care and affection.

'When are you free next week, honey? It would be nice to get together and do something.'

'Well, it won't exactly be a date, but my friend Zechs 'phoned just before I got here. He's suggested a group of us going paint-balling on Tuesday evening if you'd fancy coming along? It's a belated birthday present for me since he was away last week.'

'Paint-balling?' I couldn't help grinning. That so wasn't what I'd thought he'd suggest. I hadn't precisely been planning on a group of his friends tagging along either. Still, maybe it would be a good idea to do something fairly casual. 'That's not exactly what I'd got pegged as one of your hobbies.'

He made a face at me. 'What, just because I'm a gay violin teacher I can't like that sort of thing? I happen to be very good at paint-ball.'

'I happen to know that you're very good at all sorts of ball-related activities,' I teased, just to watch his reaction. 'Anyway, I could probably make Tuesday evening, if it's not too early. I finish work at seven.'

'Oh, that should be fine. We're scheduled to start at seven thirty, and a game usually takes an hour or so. Then Zechs is organising dinner somewhere, if you'd be interested.'

'Sure. I've never done anything like that, but I like the idea of chasing you around the woods armed with a big gun.'

_Oh yeah._

He obviously picked up on the, ah, hidden sub-text to what I'd said, because he gave a cute little giggle.

'That's sorted then. Listen, if you're free for a bit, I'll just check the appointment book and see if I can take an early lunch. We could maybe grab a coffee or something.' I glanced up at the clock. 'Given that it's exactly one week ago since I met you first, it's sort of our anniversary. Might be nice to do something to celebrate?'


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer - Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me.

Note - thanks to KS for proofing and Snow for the technical details. No Chihuahuas were harmed in the writing of this story.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 18:**

'So.. how'd things go with Trowa?' Duo asks.

I'd called back to see him after lunch with Trowa, and he'd suggested taking both dogs to the park behind their house. Shinnie is leaping around us in giant circles, every so often zooming back in to give Duo a quick lick or touch noses with Maggie. For such a boisterous animal, he's very gentle with her.

'Good,' I say happily. 'Very good, actually.'

Duo laughs. 'So does that mean he ravished you on one of those steel surgical tables?'

'No, it does not!'

'Shame,' he remarks. 'I've always wanted to try that. Probably be pretty cold though. And uncomfortable. All that metal.'

'Duo! We just talked, and then we went for an early lunch. And I've asked him back for dinner when he finishes work.'

'Whoa! _You're_ planning to cook? You'll probably end up poisoning the poor guy. I can give you something out of our freezer, if you'd like?'

'No, it's quite safe. I stopped off at that nice Italian delicatessen and got a lasagne and some salads. He suggested going back to his place again, but I thought it might be nice for him not to cook after he's been working all day.'

'Hmmm,' Duo murmurs. 'Let me guess; you're scared of the magnetic pull of the futon, right?'

'Certainly not,' I lie haughtily, despite the fact he's sniggering.

'Yeah, right. So….' he waggles his eyebrows, 'everything's really OK with you two?'

'I think so, yes. We had a long talk; I apologised for what I'd done and…'

Duo snorts. 'You're unbelievable, Winner! You don't have to apologise for giving a guy a fricking blow job!'

'Well, it wasn't that so much, as that I felt I'd been leading him on,' I mutter.

'Aw, Quat.' There aren't any other people around and Duo pulls me into a quick hug. For a fraction of a second, I let myself wonder what my life would have been like if he'd ever cared for me as more than a friend. 'A little bit of teasing is OK sometimes, you know?' He shrugs. 'You've got to stop angsting so much over all this, buddy. Sure, sex is great and everything, but other stuff is important too.'

'I can't believe _you're_ saying that! You and Heero can't keep your hands off each other for two seconds.'

Duo grins. 'Yeah, we're both pretty touchy-feely, all right. But it's not like we're always pouncing on each other. Hell, if I've had a rough day, sometimes I fall asleep before Heero even gets my pants off.'

'Doesn't he mind that?' I pick up a stick and fling it for Shinnie, trying to imagine Simon's reaction if I'd fallen asleep when he wanted sex.

'Well, it's not exactly his favourite thing, but he sort of understands. He keeps telling me I work too hard.'

'He's perfectly right,' I say firmly. 'It's crazy; you can't keep working fourteen-hour days the way you've been doing.'

'I guess. What am I supposed to do though? Howard's getting on; it's not like he can spend hours up a ladder anymore. He was talking about maybe hiring someone else in the next couple of months, if things stay as busy as they are.'

'I think that's an excellent idea. And I know that Heero will too. So…is everything sorted between you two?'

'I guess. He called just after you left, and apologised for taking off like that. Says he'll be home some time this afternoon, and he'll make it up to me.'

'You need to talk to him, Duo. He's used to being able to take off whenever he wants to, but that isn't fair on you. You at least need to have some idea of his plans in advance.'

'Yeah, yeah…I just don't want him to feel I'm trying to tie him down or something.'

'I thought he liked that!' I say, just to make his laugh. 'Seriously, Maxwell, complaining about him to me and Hilde isn't going to help in the long run. And he's crazy about you; he'll be more than willing to do anything you like.'

'Fine, fine, I'll talk to him.' Duo whistles for his dog, who is tearing after a flock of seagulls. One of these days, he's just going to take off. He flicks me a sly little grin. 'After his brain's been fried from lots of sex.'

'Charming,' I groan. 'Weren't you just saying that relationships aren't all about sex?'

'Not exactly. What I said was that there is other stuff involved. So..what's on your agenda for the rest of the day? You're welcome to hang around, but I might be sort of occupied elsewhere.'

'No, I'd better head home. I have some papers to mark, and I want to clean the house.'

'Your house is always spotless. Well, it is when I'm not there. And I'm sure your Trowa isn't going to be checking under the couch for dust bunnies.'

_My Trowa._

That sounds wonderful, even if it isn't entirely true.

I'm still not entirely sure why he would he want to settle for a messed-up guy who isn't even ready to sleep with him?

When the doorbell rings at seven thirty, everything is perfect. I've made a fire, lit some candles, blown them out again as I don't want everything to look overly romantic, called Duo three times to check the cooking time for a lasagne, showered, changed twice, and fed the dogs.

Fortunately, Dorothy left a message to say she was going out for dinner; unfortunately, she didn't bring her dog with her. I've tried enticing him into Maggie's puppy pen, but he's too sneaky to be bribed with treats.

'Something smells good,' Trowa comments when I open the door, giving me a bottle of wine and a quick kiss, before bending down to stroke Maggie.

I grin down at him. 'I just had a shower. I'm glad you noticed.'

'Funny guy.' He straightens up and pulls me in for a much more…comprehensive kiss. Quite breathtakingly thorough, in fact.

Walking into the kitchen together feels natural somehow. That in itself is odd. I've only invited very close friends into my sanctuary in the past year, but Trowa already feels like he belongs, opening the door to let the dogs outside, and holding the oven door while I take out the lasagne.

'That looks amazing. I thought you said that you didn't know how to cook.'

'I don't. But I'm moderately good at reheating.' I put the hot dish to one side to cool for a few minutes, as per Duo's instructions, and arrange a variety of salads onto two plates. 'I should probably learn though, now that Duo's moved out. It's terrible; I'm twenty-four and I've no idea how to cook the simplest thing.'

'I can teach you, if you like,' Trowa offers generously. 'But you must be able to make something. Didn't you watch your mother cook when you were a kid?'

That makes me laugh. 'I don't think my mother even knew where the kitchens were. She used to email our chef with the day's menus every morning and that was that.'

'I can't imagine living like that,' he says, shaking his head.

'I can't imagine it now, either.'

'Your friend Dorothy isn't here tonight?' he asks, refusing my offer of wine and accepting a glass of apple juice.

'She's gone out to dinner' I carefully serve a portion of lasagne, and hand him a plate. 'She'll probably be back later, so you might get to meet her.'

'Maybe. Although I shouldn't stay too late; it's been a long day, and I've got another early shift tomorrow. How's it going with her anyway?'

'Today's been fine, but then we haven't actually seen each other so that probably doesn't mean a lot.' I take a sip of my own juice. 'I didn't think it would be so difficult to share a house with someone; Duo and I lived together for years, and we never had a real argument. Dorothy wasn't in the house for a full day before I wanted to kill her!'

He laughs. 'I picked up on that when you called me last night. So how do you two know each other?'

'Oh, we've known each other since we were about four years old. Our parents belonged to the same country club, and Dorothy and I went to the same classes for tennis and sailing and dancing.'

'Dancing?' Trowa raises an eyebrow, grinning. 'Actual formal ballroom dancing?'

I groan. 'Oh, yes. My parents thought it was a necessary social accomplishment.'

'That's just so cute,' he grins. 'Did you have a little miniature tuxedo and a frilly shirt with a bow tie?'

'I'm afraid so,' I confess, trying not to shudder at the memory of all those deeply ruffled pink shirts. My mother was so used to buying clothes for my older sisters that I think she shopped for me on auto-pilot.

'Like I said, totally cute. So … did all that turn you off dancing for life, or would you like to go out clubbing with me some night?'

'Oh, I'd love that,' I say happily. 'I know some really good places in town. Maybe we could go next weekend?'

Trowa forks up a mouthful of lasagne. 'Sure. I guess you don't want to go up to Lake Victoria then?'

Lake Victoria? Oh. I'd assumed that was off the cards.

'You forgot, didn't you?'

'No. I just wasn't sure that you'd still want to go.'

'Idiot. Why wouldn't I want to bring my gorgeous boyfriend to my favourite place? Assuming you still want to go, of course.'

'Oh, I do!' I assure him earnestly. 'Really.'

'That's sorted then,' Trowa grins. 'The thing is, I finish at lunchtime next Saturday, and I've got Sunday off, so we could stay overnight if you liked.'

I swallow a mouthful of food, giving myself a little time to think. 'Um, the thing is, I'm not sure if I can afford it. Duo and Heero stayed at the Lake Victoria Resort last month and it was really expensive.'

'Oh, we wouldn't be staying there. A friend of mine from university is working for the Parks Service up there; they have some cabins for staff, and there's usually one empty. I'm sure he could fix us up.' I get another of those knowing grins. 'It's totally unromantic, if that's what's worrying you. The huts are very basic; no electricity or running water, and bunk beds. But they each have a fireplace and amazing views of the lake, if you don't mind roughing it for a night.'

He gives me a slightly doubtful glance. 'Or maybe that's not your sort of thing. We could probably find a B&B nearby if you'd prefer something a bit less rough and ready.'

'Not at all. I 'm perfectly capable of roughing it when necessary.' I make a face at him, but actually it's rather nice that he's considering me. When Simon and I went away, he just booked the trendiest hotel in whatever destination was considered fashionable. And he would never in a million years have thought of spending a night in a cabin in the middle of the forest. 'Anyway, firelight and candlelight sound rather romantic.'

Actually, it all sounds wonderful.

'You could even bring Maggie as a chaperone, although it's quite a long drive for a puppy, especially when she's only ever done short trips before.'

'I'm sure Duo will be happy to take care of her for one night. Actually, I'd better let them in. I think I can hear Maggie scratching at the door.'

My dog trots in proudly, dragging a banana skin behind her.

'Where did you get that, sweetie?

'Looks like she's been foraging in your compost heap,' Trowa chuckles.

'That's fenced off. And all the rubbish goes into a sealed bin outside. There's no way they'd be able to open that. If you'll excuse me a minute, I'd better see where Taco is.'

Taco, in fact, is standing amidst the contents of a shredded black plastic sack. Dorothy has obviously emptied the kitchen bin, and just left the bag of rubbish by the back door. At first I think he's getting sick, and then I realise he's choking, frantically gasping for breath and making piteous little sounds of distress.

'What was in the bag, Quatre? Chicken?' Trowa is suddenly beside me as I kneel down to try to help the poor little dog.

'I - ah - I don't think so. There might be some ham bones. Oh, God, can you help him?'

'I hope so.' He has Taco on his lap, prising his jaws apart. 'Can you get my jacket? There's a forceps in the pocket.'

'Of course.' I'm back in record time, Maggie trailing uncertainly behind me.

Trowa nods his thanks, not bothering to look up. 'You were right; it's one of those little round ham bones. Just the right size to in his mouth but too big to swallow. It's wedged between his back teeth, and I can't get a finger in there. Hey, little guy, let's get you sorted, out, OK?'

I squat beside him, taking Maggie on to my lap. His voice, as he croons reassurances to his patient, is unbelievably gentle. One hand is cradling the tiny skull as the other somehow manipulates the forceps.

'There we go! Gotcha!' He says triumphantly, pulling out the little piece of bone, and grinning.

'God, I'm so glad you were here. He could have died otherwise.' My voice is a little shaky as I try to imagine being here alone, not having a clue what I should do.

'Not necessarily,' Trowa offers kindly, putting an arm around my shoulders. 'He might have coughed it up by himself.'

'Maybe.' I have a feeling he's just saying that to be nice, though. 'I could never have faced Dorothy again if anything had happened to her dog.'

Trowa snorts. 'If she's so concerned about her pet's welfare, then maybe she should be more careful about leaving stuff like this lying around. If he had choked, she would have had only herself to blame.'

'Not really. I should have told her that I don't just leave these garbage sacks outside.

'Now you're being ridiculous,' he says crisply. 'Any sensible person would realise it's foolish to leave a bagful of lovely smelly rubbish within reach of two dogs, one of them just a puppy.' His arm tightens just a little, then he lets me go. 'I'd better this little fellow back inside and get him warmed up.'

'Of course.' I take a deep breath, holding it until I feel a little calmer. 'I'll just clear this mess up, in case Maggie needs to go back outside later. Why don't you and Taco go and sit by the fire, and I'll make some coffee. You don't have to go just yet, do you?'

Ten minutes later, I walk into the living room, holding two cups of decaffeinated coffee and a plateful of the organic biscuits I'd bought at the deli.

'Oh, you look so sweet,' I blurt before I can stop myself. Trowa is sprawled on my couch, with Taco in his lap and Maggie snuggling against him. It's wrong to feel jealous of a dog, particularly one who's just had a brush with his own mortality, but I really would like to be in Taco's place right now. Or Maggie's.

'Sweet?' Trowa asks, not sounding overly thrilled at the description. 'That's not exactly on my list of desirable adjectives.'

'It's true, though.' I shift Maggie gently to my lap, laughing at Trowa's disgruntled expression. 'You look cute and adorable and totally sweet.'

'I am _not _sweet,' he informs me firmly. 'And people who spent their childhoods running around doing the polka or foxtrot or whatever it was in frilled shirts do _not _get to make derogatory comments about anyone else.'

'It was a compliment, Trowa,' I protest, laughing. 'Sweet is good. But if you don't like it, I won't say it again.'

I'll think it, though. And he does look…the unmentionable 's' word, leaning back against the cushions with his hair hanging over one eye and that monster happily lying on top of him.

Duo's right, actually; Taco does look a little bit like a rat. A cross rat.

Trowa sips his coffee, and Taco shoots me a baleful glare.

'Unmannerly creature,' I retort, glaring back at him. 'I helped to save your life and you repay me by stealing my boyfriend's lap.'

Trowa laughs. 'That's easily fixed.' Before I realise what he's about to do, Taco has been decanted on to a cushion, and I'm installed in his place.

'Better now? You comfortable?'

'Mmm.' More than comfortable, actually, with Trowa's arm firmly around my waist, and my head fitting perfectly into the hollow of his shoulder.

'This is my idea of perfection,' Trowa echoes my sentiments exactly. 'You, coffee and chocolate, all within arms' length. ' He reaches over for the plate and selects one of the cookies I'd hoped he'd enjoy, full of chunks of dark chocolate and crystallised ginger.

'How on earth did you know my favourite biscuits?'

'Didn't I tell you about my psychic powers?' I laugh at his expression. 'You told me you like dark chocolate, and you ordered vegetables with ginger in the restaurant last week. It was just a lucky guess.'

'Good guess.' He leans over and nuzzles my mouth, licking up a couple of stray crumbs. 'If you keep spoiling me like this, you'll never get rid of me.'

_I'd like that…_

'It's the least I can do,' I say aloud. 'After all, you did save Taco's life.'

'You'd have managed,' he tells me. 'But if you really want to show your appreciation, I can suggest a few ways.'

'I really, really hate to say this,' he remarks around a huge yawn three cookies and several lingering kisses later. 'I have to feed Leo and I'm working at seven in the morning.'

'OK,' I reluctantly stand up and lead him to the hallway.

'So…I guess this is it 'til the paint-balling. Is there anything special I should bring with me?'

'Just something very old and casual. They do provide suits but it's still pretty messy. And bring a good pair of running shoes, and something to change into for dinner.'

'Check.' His mouth brushes tantalisingly against mine. 'I really have to go now, Quatre.'

'I know.' I release his hand but he still doesn't move. I want him to stay so badly I have to bite my lip to stop him blurting out an invitation. Tonight has just been so perfect - well, apart from Taco's misadventure, it's been perfect.

All the things I've been dreaming of; just sharing a meal and snuggling on the couch. If he stayed, we could watch a movie, or just stay up all night talking. It's so long since I've done that with someone who isn't Duo.

But I can't exactly ask Trowa to stay over and expect him to sleep in the guest room, can I?

It's been so long since I've dated anyone that I'm not entirely sure of the correct protocol. Still, I'm sure that an invitation to sleep over implies that there will be sex involved. And I'm not ready for that.

'I'll see you on Wednesday,' I say finally, reaching past him to open the door, hating myself for sending him out into the cold. Hating the fact that I can't just invite him to stay with me.,,,.


	19. Chapter 19

-1Disclaimer; I don't own Gundam Wing. I write purely for the fun of it.

Note - This chapter is dedicated jointly to Wolfje and Maskelle, purely because I am an evil and sadistic person. *evil laughter* You may find out the answer one day….

As always, thanks to KS for proofing.

**Chapter 19:**

'So,' I grinned at my best friend as he opened his front door and ushered me inside. 'It sounds like the squirrel slayer's in good form these days?' That was something of an understatement; she was hurling herself against the kitchen door and howling like a werewolf on acid.

Wufei glared at me. 'Nataku didn't_ kill_ the unfortunate creature. She began to chase it and it simply dropped on the spot. No doubt it was elderly and possibly suffering from some illness as well. It was probably due to expire from natural causes in any case.'

'So what does that make it?' I quipped. 'Murder in the second? Squirrel slaughter?'

'Death by natural causes,' he said firmly. Typical lawyer; a smart answer for everything.

'How exactly are we supposed to eat dinner if she's occupying the kitchen?'

He laughed. 'I've already set the table on the balcony. It's just warm enough to eat outside.'

The table in fact, was laden with all his specialities; including my favourite chicken cooked with ginger and cashews.

'This is great, 'Fei. Thanks for asking me over. I wasn't too bothered about cooking for myself tonight.'

'You are very welcome.' He looked pleased at the praise. 'Actually, I wanted to ask a favour, and I thought perhaps you could help me, Trowa? You're good with animals and I think Nataku might benefit from some individual training. She spends most of her time at the obedience class trying to kill the other dogs. We're not terribly popular, I'm afraid.'

'Well, I'll try but I'm not exactly a professional dog trainer.'

'I would appreciate any help at this stage. I've tried asking all my relations for help, but I'm the only one who lives alone. Everyone else has the excuse of children or grandchildren.'

'Have you thought about kennels? Maybe somewhere where they do training as well? It'd be expensive, but it might be worth it.'

'I have considered it, but my grandmother did ask me to take Nataku while she was overseas. I can't really send her off to live with strangers.'

'No sign of Granny coming home then?' I helped myself to more of his excellent chicken. 'I thought you said the sister she was staying with had got over her pneumonia?'

'She has, but now one of my cousins is pregnant and I think my grandmother plans to stay until the baby is due.' He groaned. 'That won't be for another two months.'

'Shit. Maybe she'll never come home at this rate! She was only supposed to be gone a few weeks, wasn't she?'

He nodded dolefully. The matriarch of the Chang dynasty had decided the previous year, at the age of seventy-five, to leave her children and grandchildren in Sanque to their own devices for a month or so, and set out to visit her friends and extended family in Europe and America. Almost a year later, she was still on the move and her eldest grandson was still lumbered with her beloved dog.

'She's having far too much fun globe-trotting. I don't know if she'll ever be able to settle back down again, to be honest. On her last blog, she was talking about spending the winter in Hawaii.'

'She's got her own blog? You have got to give me the name and I'll write to her.'

'Oh, she'd love that. She's very fond of you.'

'Well, I'm fond of her too,' I said truthfully. The elder Mrs. Chang had pretty much been a surrogate mother to Wufei and myself when we were teenagers. My father had been wrapped up in work and his ever-changing stream of girlfriends, and Wufei's parents had spent their time building up their small chain of jewellery shops, and attending night classes.

Wufei's grandmother had been the one to dish up deliciously fragrant meals; to attend school prize-givings and martial arts tournaments. We'd both dreaded how the elderly, very traditional woman would react to finding out we were gay, but in fact she'd taken it way better than our respective parents, saying she'd encountered enough prejudice in her lifetime, based on her sex in China, and later as a new immigrant to Sanque, to be intolerant to anyone else.

'She was thrilled to hear you'd moved back to Sanque,' Wufei told me.

'Me too, now.' I grinned around a forkful of noodles, meaning it. 'If I hadn't come back, I'd never have met Quatre.'

'I take it things are going well, then.' He leaned over to refill my juice.

'Very well, actually. Practically perfect.' OK, they would have been totally perfect if he'd been a little less uptight about the whole sex thing, but I could wait for him to be ready. He was worth it.

I'd enjoyed myself immensely the previous night, even with just a bit of snuggling. I'd really, really wanted him to ask me to stay over, but I guessed it had been a bit too soon for that.

'He asked me over for dinner last night, after work. That was nice, except his roommate's dog nearly choked to death. Lucky I was there, actually, or the poor little thing mightn't have made it.'

'That must have impressed Quatre,' Wufei said a little dryly. 'You vets have all these wonderful advantages, don't you?'

'I don't know about that. You could always get your boyfriend off on a murder charge; that'd be pretty impressive.'

'I don't make a habit of dating murder suspects,' Wufei flicked me a quick grin. 'And I'm sure there would be a conflict of interests there anyway. But I'm glad you're getting on with Quatre. Even if it means I don't get to see very much of you.'

'I'm sorry,' I said, meaning it. 'Life's just been hectic for the last week or so, what with me moving house and still getting used to the job.' I still felt a little stab of guilt though; all that was perfectly true, but I'd been hoarding whatever free time I had to be with Quatre. No wonder Wufei was feeling neglected.

'I understand. I just thought, with you moving back to Sanque, we'd get to spend more time with each other.'

'Of course we will. Listen, I haven't got my schedule for next week yet, but we should get together the first night we're both free, OK?'

'That would be very pleasant.'

'Good,' I toasted him with my juice glass. 'Isn't that new kung-fu movie in the cinema now? We could have dinner first.'

He nodded, looking so pleased I felt another little surge of guilt. He didn't have a lot of very close friends, and I knew Sally was tied up with her job and her new boyfriend.

Nataku, who'd been surprisingly quiet while we ate, suddenly gave an ear-splitting howl, making us both wince.

'Ouch. I see why you need some more training classes.'

He nodded vigorously. 'None of my neighbours talk to me anymore. Perhaps you'd have some spare time at the weekend?'

'No can do, I'm afraid.' I did try to look regretful, but it probably didn't come off. 'Quatre and I are going away on Saturday night.'

'It's a little soon for that, isn't it? You've only known each other for a week.'

'Well, it'll be two weeks by then,' I grinned at him. 'Practically a long term relationship by my standards.'

'I didn't mean for you,' Wufei pushed his empty plate away. 'I just never got the impression that Quatre would be the sort of person to rush into things.'

I shrugged. 'Well, you don't really know him, do you?'

'Maybe not, but I've known him for longer than you have, and I like him. You're not pressuring him into anything, are you?'

Well, _shit._

'Look, 'Fei,' I snapped. 'I know you think my relationships are all shallow and superficial and whatever else, but I'm not in the habit of pressuring people. I've _always _been honest with my partners. I like Quatre a lot, and I have no intention of hurting him. Frankly, I think it's pretty insulting that you think so little of me.'

Wufei took a deep breath. 'I didn't mean to insult you, Trowa, and I apologise if that's how it sounded. I know you are an honourable person, and would never hurt anyone deliberately. I just - perhaps I identify too much with Quatre, that's all.'

'It's OK,' my sudden flare of anger died immediately, looking the expression in his dark eyes. 'I'm sorry I yelled at you. And you're quite right, his ex was a total shit, but I'm taking things slowly with him. I really like him, you know.'

'I'm glad,' he smiled faintly.

'Yeah, me as well. Listen, I could bore you talking about Quatre all night, if you don't shut me up. How about your own love life? Anything to tell your best friend?'

He shrugged. 'Not really. No one important.'

'Wasn't there some guy at your gym?'

'We saw each other once or twice, but ultimately we wanted different things.'

'And you found that out after two dates?' I asked sceptically. 'Most people give it at least three goes before they realise that. Did you give him a questionnaire or something?'

'Hardly.' He began to gather up the empty dishes. 'Leave it, Trowa. I'm perfectly happy being single. I don't need a boyfriend to complete my existence.'

'I know that,' I persisted, 'but wouldn't you like one? You know, someone to come home to at night, and wake up with in the morning? Someone to eat dinner with every evening and curl up with to watch TV?'

'I never watch television. Has Quatre been doctoring your food or something?' my friend demanded, standing up. 'Since when have you ever been into any of those things?'

'Stop trying to make this about me,' I argued, and then he flung the kitchen door open and Nataku barrelled into the living room, growling ominously. 'And setting your dog on me won't work either; I'm a vet, remember? I'm used to handling vicious animals.'

She gave my hand a disdainful sniff, accepted the treat I'd held out to her, and then stalked off, to chew the table leg.

'I think you should maybe give some nice guy a chance, that's all. Just because Treize was a total bastard doesn't mean that every guy in the universe is like that.'

'Perhaps not.' He didn't sound terribly positive, though, and the clatter of dishes in the sink, and the gush of water shut off any further discussion.

Well done, Trowa. Mentioning Treize was always a mistake, but I hated the thought of my best friend spending the rest of his life alone because he was too scared to trust anyone ever again.

'Hey,' I picked up the glasses and jug and carried them into the kitchen, giving Nataku a wide berth. She seemed happy enough tuning Wufei's coffee table to sawdust, but she might easily decide flesh and blood would be more fun to sink her teeth into. 'Are you doing anything on Tuesday evening?'

'I don't have anything planned, no.' He looked up and gave me a faint smile, obviously happy that I'd dropped the subject of dating. 'Would you like to meet up?'

'Sort of. Quatre's asked me to go paint-balling with some of his friends, and I wondered if you'd fancy coming along. It'll be after work.'

Quatre had suggested it that I might like to have a friend, when we'd talked that morning, and I'd said I didn't think it was Wufei's sort of thing. But maybe it would be nice for him to get out and do something new and fun?

'Paint balling?' Wufei couldn't have sounded more disapproving if I'd suggested satanic rites. 'Why on earth would I want to do something like that?'

'Why not? It's a healthy outdoor activity. And it sounds sort of fun. Come on, man. You've already told me you're free.'

He considered. 'Who else will be going?'

'I'm not sure. Just some of Quatre's friends. I think there are going to be two teams of five.'

'Those two who were at your house?'

'Heero and Duo? I guess so. Duo's Quatre's best friend.'

Wufei gives a disdainful sniff. 'I can't imagine why. As soon as they got outside, they were practically mauling each other in the middle of the pavement.'

'Well, it was pretty dark,' I comment. 'And I think they've only been together for a few months. They're still at that stage when they can't keep their hands off each other.'

Another sniff. 'There are such things as decency and decorum.'

'They won't have time for anything like that on Wednesday. It sounds pretty fast-paced. Look, will you at least think about it? It'd be kind of nice for me to have a friend there with all those strangers.'

'I'll think about it,' Wufei sighed. 'But, honestly, Trowa, I don't think it's something I'll enjoy.'

'And then again you might,' I countered. And maybe Quatre might have some nice single friends. I didn't dare mention that, of course; he would have run a mile. Instead, I changed the subject again. 'You realise your dog is attempting to destroy every piece of furniture you possess?'

He nodded. 'I have tried to stop her, but I've decided it's preferable for the furniture to be chewed than me. I think she's missing the futon you've borrowed; she seemed to like the flavour of that wood.'

'Oh, I forgot to say. You can probably take it back next week. I'm going to buy a proper bed.'

'Ah. I take it this is for Quatre's benefit?'

Quatre had seemed to like the futon just fine, but I'd better not say that out loud.

'No. It's too small for me to stretch out, though; I've practically had to sleep bent double for the past couple of nights. I was looking up beds on the internet this afternoon; I think I'll order one tonight when I get home.'

The idea of Quatre sprawled over a king-size mattress was - rather enticing. Actually so was the idea of just being able to stretch out for a change. But having Quatre with me would definitely be the cherry on top.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer - They don't belong to me, and this is purely for fun. Actually, this one was practically indecent amounts of fun to write! Also, I've never been paint-balling so I made up my own rules.

Quatre's POV.

**Chapter 20: **

'Let's get started, shall we?' Zechs shakes back his long silvery-blond hair and jumps on to a convenient log at the start of the paintball course . Honestly, it's not like he even needs the extra height, but he's never happy unless he's in the limelight. And of course he wants to take charge of everything.

He starts to explain the paint-ball rules and I let my mind drift off for a moment, looking at Trowa, who's listening intently. We'll he's never played before, so I suppose he has to. I do hope he isn't going to fall for Zechs, though.

'If you haven't played this before,' Zechs states, glorying in the fact that everyone is paying attention to him, 'the rules are printed on the reverse of your laminated map. We'll hand those out in a minute. Basically, if you're shot five times, you're officially dead and you're out of the game. If you've been shot four times, you have the option of surrendering to your opponent, and you'll be taken to their base. You may be exchanged for another prisoner or for extra ammo. You can take a person prisoner if you tap him or her on the right shoulder three times, and you can free them by tapping the left shoulder.'

He glances down at the list he has in one hand. 'There are two teams; five people on each. I'm the leader of the green team, which consists of Otto, Noin, Heero and Trowa and everyone else is with Quatre on the blue team.' He throws me a little smirk. 'Oh, dear. Sorry Quatre. I know you wanted Trowa on your team, but the girl in the office must have made a mistake when she typed up the lists.'

'That's quite all right,' I give him my sweetest smile. Negative psychology never fails with him! I knew he'd try to poach Trowa, just so he can find out all about him, and that's fine. If he's busy interrogating my boyfriend, he'll be that much easier to beat.

Zechs looks slightly confused by my response. 'Well, I think that's everything so we can probably get started.'

'Not yet, I'm still waiting for one of team members to arrive,' I object. 'Wufei should be here any minute now.'

Precisely on cue, a car pulls up and Trowa's friend Wufei gets out. As Trowa goes over to meet him, Zechs is practically drooling.

Eureka! I knew Zechs wouldn't be able to resist someone like Wufei. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Wufei is wearing some sort of loose Chinese tunic and trousers. With his dark colouring, he looks utterly exotic on a cool Spring evening in Sanque.

'Hey!' Duo says into the sudden silence. 'How come Heero and I can't be on the same team, Zechs?'

'Oh, you can swap,' Zechs says without missing a beat, or taking his eyes off the gorgeous young Chinese man. 'Heero, why don't you swap with…Wufei, is it?'

Duo flicks me a grin and a thumbs-up sign as Heero walks over to us. Excellent. The first part of my 'Distract Zechs' plan is working very nicely indeed. Although Duo's theory that Wufei and Zechs will immediately fall for each other seems rather one-sided, so far.

Zechs is obviously smitten, but Wufei is already edging away from Zechs, who's trying to 'help' him put on his green arm-band.

Everybody heads off to get suited up and collect their weapons, and Zechs and I collect maps, a compass apiece, and a small first aid kit, just in case.

When I catch up with my team, Duo is lying on the ground with his head in Heero's lap, Relena is making a daisy chain and Dorothy is taking the paint balls from Relena's gun.

'All right, everyone!' I try to sound bright and motivational. 'Ready to go?'

No one pays me the slightest attention, except that Duo groans loudly. 'Can't we just stay here and chill for the hour? I don't feel up to running around for hours.'

'Oh, that sounds like a good plan,' Relena enthuses. 'As Duo suggests, we could organise a peaceful protest instead. You all know how much I disapprove of these silly war games.'

'She's right,' Heero agrees. 'This game and its rules are ridiculous. A direct hit to a major organ should mean a kill! And these so called 'weapons',' he glances down at his disparagingly, 'are little more than toys for children. They don't even have an automatic function.'

There are times when Heero scares me a little.

'Well, it _is_ just a game,' I say brightly. 'It's going to be fun. And Relena, no one actually forced you to come, you know.'

'I thought Milliardo said we were going painting,' she informs us. 'I brought my easel and everything.'

Oh, wonderful.

'Come on, Quat.' Duo wheedles. It's not like we're going to win or anything. Can't we just concede or something and go for dinner early?'

'No!' No way am I letting Zechs win by default, even I have to drag Duo around the course by the hair. 'We're going to play and, what's more, we're going to win! It's a matter of honour.'

'I don't have any honour! And no way are we going to win, anyway. I mean, you're the only person who's ever done this before, and Zechs is like the paint-ball champion of the universe.'

'Nonsense! Zechs probably thinks just that, so he'll be overconfident. That's going to make him sloppy. Plus he's going to be a little…distracted, shall we say?'

'Whatever do you mean, Quatre?' I do sometimes wonder how anyone get to be Relena's age and still be so naïve.

'It's pretty obvious,' Dorothy tells her. 'He's got the hots for that Chinese guy who arrived late. Plus, he obviously wants to grill Quatre's new squeeze.'

'Um, yes.' I suppose that did sum it all up succinctly. 'Anyway, all of that gives us some advantages. I don't see why we should be the losing side.'

'Sheeh, that competitive side of yours is really unattractive,' my best fried mutters. 'Anyone ever tell you that?'

'I'm not competitive, Duo. I just want to beat Zechs, that's all.'

Fortunately, Heero seems to feel the same way, getting to his feet and pulling his partner up, despite his groans.

'Are you OK, Duo?' I ask, suddenly concerned that something is wrong. 'You don't really have to play if you don't feel well.'

He gives me a faint smile. 'I guess I'll live. I spent all day painting this really high, elaborate ceiling though; ten hours on my back on hard wooden scaffolding.'

'I thought gay guys liked spending time on their backs,' Dorothy chips in snidely, and falls down flat when Heero shoots her in the chest.

Duo falls in beside me as we start the short hike to the woods to our base.

'That really sucks that you don't get to have the HVG on your team,' he sympathises. 'Still, I guessed Zechs would try to poach him. He's been dying to know what Trowa's like.'

'Well, it's only for an hour or so,' I say calmly. To be honest, I'm rather glad that Heero and Trowa ended up on different teams. Heero's been muttering darkly about how much he wants to do a DNA test on my boyfriend, on the grounds that if Trowa has nothing to hide, he shouldn't have a problem with it. I quite like the idea of keeping them apart.

By the time we reach our 'fort' in the woods, Relena has made us all garlands of wild flowers, Dorothy and Duo have shot each several times 'by accident' and Heero has done something to his gun so it has the capacity to fire several balls at once.

'OK, here's the plan.' I spread my map on the ground and point to our location. 'Heero, I want you to concentrate on taking out Zechs. He'll probably have back up with him, so be careful. We need to neutralise Zechs as soon as possible; they'll be lost without their leader.'

'Hey, how come he gets to fight Zechs?' Dorothy complains instantly.

Duo makes a face at her. 'Maybe 'cause he's the only one who knows how to shoot, Catalonia.' Well, that isn't quite true. I'd love to take out Zechs myself, but Heero needs an incentive to take part. And he and Zechs have always had a bit of an alpha-male contest between them. It doesn't help that Zechs went out with Duo first.

'I know how to shoot! I've been pheasant shooting lots of times on Uncle Dermail's estate.'

'Oh, that's so cruel! Poor innocent little birds!' Relena looks like she's going to cry. It's hard to believe she and Dorothy were close friends for years. I have to admit, my plan of trying to get the two of them back together isn't working very well so far. I thought if they were on the same team, they'd have to support each other. Well, it's early days yet….

'They're just birds.' Dorothy shrugs. 'You eat chicken, don't you? It's not like they have feelings or anything.'

Relena gasps in horror. 'They can feel pain!'

'Oh, go hug a tree, why don't you?'

'All right,' I put in quickly, before my team starts attacking each other again. 'So, Heero, I want you to focus on Zechs. He'll probably try to storm our base to start with; he always favours a full frontal assault.'

'Oh, man! Poor Wufei's in for a rough time of it!'

'Duo! And Dorothy, you'll just encourage him if you laugh. Doro, you and I will go here and here,' I point to the map, 'and try to pick off anyone else. Duo and Relena, you guard the fort and we'll all meet back here in thirty minutes, OK? Then we'll plan an attack on their base. Try to take prisoners so we obtain get information from them.'

'Torture them!' Dorothy's eyes gleam. 'Cool!'

'No torturing!' I say quickly over Relena's wails about human rights and the Geneva Convention. 'All right, everyone. Be careful, and try not to get shot!'

The next twenty minutes or so are rather chaotic, as I pick my way carefully through the woods, looking for enemy targets. As luck would have it, the first enemy I find happens to be my boyfriend, and we have a few fun minutes dodging about and firing at each other.

I do have a few slight advantages, though. Either Trowa is a terrible shot, or else he's purposely trying not to hit me for some reason. It's also much easier for me, being smaller, to duck under branches and squirm under bushes, so he loses sight of me at one point as I crawl around.

When I resurface, for some reason, he is blazing away at a holly bush. He's also covered in bright splodges of paint.

He looks amazing.

I lurk behind my tree until I figure he's out of paint. 'You know, I think that bush is dead. It's stopped fighting back anyway.'

Trowa spins around as I step out into view, gun slightly lowered, but with my finger on the trigger, just in case.

'Hi, Trowa. Haven't you had enough of all this by now? It just doesn't seem right for the two of us to be fighting each other.'

He hesitates, and I give him a pleadingly hurt look.

'Don't you trust me?' I take a couple of steps toward him; ready to fire if he makes the first move. 'I was the first one to come out and surrender, wasn't I?'

'Of course I trust you, Quatre!' He drops his gun and lets me wind both arms around his neck. 'I'd have had to give up anyway. I'm all out of ammo.'

Oh, Trowa, you shouldn't tell me things like that. I reach up to kiss him, and I tap three times gently on his shoulder.

'Caught you!'

'Hey! You tricked me!'

'All's fair in war and paint-balling,' I beam at him happily. 'Now you're my prisoner, you'll have to do exactly as I tell you from now on.'

'Oh, really? And what exactly is that?'

'I'm sure I'll think of something.' I give him another little kiss on the lips, and then pull him back into the trees. Oh dear. It's very tempting just to forget the game and enjoy being with my boyfriend in this lovely place. 'Later. But we have to get back to my base now to meet the others.'

If we don't get back, they'll only come looking for us, and I don't want that….

Everyone else is assembled outside the blue team's fort, with the addition of Wufei, who is sitting on the grass between the girls and not looking too happy about the fact.

'Hi Wufei!' Trowa grins at his friend. 'What happened to you?'

'She did!' He points at Relena.

'It was super, Quatre,' Relena bubbles. 'I got bored waiting here so I went for a little walk and I saw Wufei about to shoot Dorothy, so I sneaked up on him, and pretended I was lost, and then I tipped him on the shoulder, the way Zechs said we would to take a prisoner.'

'I was getting ready to aim at the blonde one,' Wufei elaborates, 'and Relena just strolled up with a handful of flowers and pulled this little helpless girly act on me. '

My boyfriend bursts out laughing. 'I can't believe you fell for that, Chang!'

'Anyone would have fallen for it,' Wufei mutters sourly. 'Women shouldn't be allowed to play these sort of games. Besides, I see you got captured as well, Barton.'

Trowa grins. 'Not by a girl who didn't even have a gun with her! I can't believe you fell for that one!'

'To be honest,' Wufei admits, 'it was something of a relief to be captured. At least it got me away from Zechs or whatever he's called. I've never met such an insufferably arrogant, conceited person in my entire life.'

'That's my brother you're talking about!' Relena gasps.

'Yeah, and he is pretty full of himself,' Duo puts in. 'C'mon, 'Lena, you're always complaining about him being big-headed.'

'Well, he does have a lot of good qualities,' I say, feeling someone should defend Zechs in his absence, as Relena informs everyone that her brother was terribly spoilt as a child.

Duo glances at his watch. 'Shouldn't Heero be back by now? You don't think he got captured, do you?'

'We do have prisoners,' Dorothy suggests, tapping a fingernail against her teeth. 'Maybe they can tell us the enemy's plans?'

'Certainly not,' Wufei declares haughtily. 'You can do whatever you like to us, but you can't make us betray our team-mates.'

'Why?' Duo wonders. 'You just said you don't like Zechs, and you don't even know Otto or Noin.'

'I know how we can get them to talk!' Relena says excitedly. 'Dorothy, do that weird thing with your eyebrows!'

Dorothy obligingly waggles her eyebrows, which admittedly are at the stage of needing to be plucked, and Wufei caves at once.

'Very well. Zechs was talking about finding Heero and challenging him to a duel. Can you stop her doing that, Quatre? It's terrifying.'

'Cool!' Duo exclaims, jumping up. 'That I want to see.'

'I'll go with you,' Relena follows him out. 'We should be able to persuade them to stop, don't you think?'

'Get real, 'Lena!' Duo tells her bluntly. 'I want to see those two slug it out.'

Dorothy sticks her nose in the air. 'You just want to pretend they're fighting over you. As if!'

'Yeah, well, I don't exactly see any guys queuing up to fight over you, missy!' Duo gives her the finger. 'Jealous, much? C'mon, 'Lena, let's go. You coming, Quat?'

'Somebody should stay here and guard the fort, and the prisoners,' I say reluctantly, and Duo just laughs at me.

'Yeah, right. You just want to stay here and make out with your H - with Trowa.'

'Duo!' Drat, now I can feel myself blushing. I'm going to kill him. I hadn't remotely thought of that…and it wouldn't be possible anyway, not with Wufei there. The others are all grinning widely at me, except Trowa, and he has a very slight smirk on his lips, and one eyebrow is raised a fraction.

'Hey, Wufei,' Duo calls, 'how d'you want to come and see Blondie getting blasted to smithereens by my boyfriend? We can leave these two lovebirds to discuss strategy and stuff.'

'I'll make sure he doesn't escape.' Dorothy says loudly, taking a firm grip on her gun and they walk off amid Wufei's protests that he would never do anything so dishonourable.

'So…' Trowa draws the word out, 'I guess I'm totally in your power now. Got any plans for what you're going to do with me?'

'I have a very definite plan,' I inform him smugly, sliding a length of cord out of one pocket, and securing his wrists.

'I hadn't realised you were into bondage,' he gasps as I tie the rope to a convenient tree trunk.

Hmm. Nor had I, actually. But there is something about having him tied up, powerless, totally vulnerable. Maybe I shouldn't be so hasty to dismiss Duo's claims of how much fun these sort of games can be.

I kiss him full on the mouth. 'Sorry, Trowa. there's something I have to do, and I need to make sure you won't escape.'

'You're going to leave me tied up here by myself?' he demands incredulously. 'Quatre, I could just promise you I'll stay! Don't you trust me?'

'Of course I do. But it's more fun this way! I'll only be a little while anyway. If Zechs and Heero are fighting, that'll mean the green fort is unguarded. No way would Noin and Otto miss seeing the duel. I'll be able to plant our flag and we'll win the game!' I pull back a little to see his expression. 'If you really feel uncomfortable, of course I'll untie you.'

'I'll survive. Just promise me one thing? The next time we do this, I want us to be in bed and naked, OK?'

'Um, OK,' I gulp, suddenly not the one in control any more. Well, it's my own fault for getting carried away and playing with fire, I suppose.

'Hey, chill,' he murmurs, reaching up to stroke my hair back from my face. 'You're the one who started this whole bondage thing, remember? Just let me know if you ever feel like playing around with ropes and stuff.'

I give a shaky little laugh, leaning into the caress until I suddenly realise that both of his hands are cupping my face. 'How did you do that?' I blurt. 'I tied you up!'

He flicks me one of those little smirks that curl the left corner of his mouth, and hint at a dimple. 'If you want to get into the bondage scene, honey, you'll have to learn to tie a decent knot. I could've got free even if my mother hadn't lived with an escape artist for a couple of years, who taught me all his tricks.' The smirk deepens a little bit, accompanied by a definite gleam in his amazing green eyes. 'Go and win your game, Quatre. I'll be waiting here for you.'


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer - I make no claims to own GW and this is purely for fun.

Many thanks to KS for editing.

Trowa's POV

**Chapter 21:**

'She's fine, Trowa,' my sister assured me. 'She regained consciousness nearly an hour ago, and she's already sitting up. We'll run some tests in the morning but it looks like she's going to be all right. You go and enjoy your party.'

'Everything all right?' Heero materialised at my elbow, just as I switched off my 'phone.

'Fine. I was just calling work. I operated on a Labrador this morning and I wanted to check on her progress.'

He nodded. 'Quatre was wondering where you were. I said I'd come and find you.'

'Oh, yeah, I didn't mean to spend so long in the showers. I was trying to scrub blue paint out of my hair. Wow!' That comment had nothing to do with my hair, which was still lightly flecked with blue, but we'd walked around a corner of the shower block, and I saw what had been set up for our dinner arrangements.

'When Quatre said we were having a barbeque after the game, I thought it would just be burnt sausages and lukewarm beers. I never imagined all this.' Not an actual marquee with professional catering staff. There was a cold seafood buffet, and waitresses circling with trays of elegant canapés.

Heero laughed. 'Oh, Zechs likes to do things on a lavish scale. And he missed Quatre's actual birthday so this is really a belated celebration. As you can see, he's invited a lot of other people along for dinner.'

'Lavish is pretty much the right word.'

Heero pressed a bottle of beer - ice cold - into my hand, and gestured to a small table off to one side. It seemed rude to refuse.

'Did you win your duel?'

'We had to call it off. It was getting too dark and Relena kept trying to stop us. One of us was going to end up shooting her if we'd kept on.'

'So which team won the game?'

'Who knows? Quatre and Zechs are probably going to spend the whole evening fighting over it.' He took a good swig of beer, and grinned over at the others.

Wufei and Relena were sitting at one end of the long table, deep in discussion, and everyone else was involved in heated discussion over the score.

Seeing my boyfriend, my shy, sensitive Quatre, in a circle of his closest friends was something of a revelation.

'I captured your fort!' He was saying heatedly. Sneaky little brat. I still couldn't believe he'd tried to pull that bondage stunt. I was actually sort of regretting that I hadn't just gone along with it. He'd been having fun, and I'd probably pushed him a bit too far with my teasing.

Damn, it was so hard to get it right, knowing when he'd go along with the joke, or when I'd scare him off. I should have just let him keep that little bit of control if it made him happy.

He'd left me alone for about fifteen minutes, before he'd come dashing back, green flag in hand, but he'd obviously been a little uncomfortable until the others turned up. On the walk back, he'd kept Duo by his side, and he must have showered and changed at lightning speed.

'You didn't 'capture' it,' Zechs retorted. 'You just strolled in and planted a flag. It doesn't count if there was no opposition.'

'If there was no opposition, that's your fault. You're the one who didn't think of posting a guard. Tough. _And_ your team took far more hits than ours.'

'Not true! Dorothy and Duo were both covered in paint.'

'Friendly fire,' Quatre said smoothly, 'while they were getting the hang of using their guns. Considering neither of them has ever done this before, they needed to practise a little. So, let's see, we took your base, we didn't get hit nearly so often, _and _we took two prisoners. We're quite clearly the winners.'

'This is going to get interesting,' Heero told me. 'Zechs is far too used to getting his own way.'

'Well, he is a prince, isn't he? You know, I hadn't realised that Quatre's friend Zechs and his sister would turn out to be royalty.'

Heero laughed. 'They're not anymore; now that Sanque is a democracy, they don't have any real power.'

'Yeah, but they still have the titles, the palace, all that stuff.'

And, at the moment, Prince Milliardo Peacecraft, aka Zechs, also had far too much of my boyfriend's attention.

'I shouldn't worry,' Heero told me unexpectedly. 'Think of it as a form of sibling rivalry. Zechs has always treated Quatre like a younger brother; I think this is Quatre's way of proving he's grown up.'

Hmm. That sort of made sense. Although I could think of other ways for Quatre to prove he was all mature now. With me, not with Zechs. The man was just too handsome for his own good.

I nodded. 'I see. I'm not usually the insecure type but, well, you have to admit Zechs is pretty amazing.'

'You think so?' Heero set down his glass and stared at the tall blond. 'Everyone tells me he's attractive, and I can never see it. Perhaps if I hadn't met Duo first...'

I decided that telling Heero - even this new, mellow version - that his boyfriend was gorgeous might not be terribly safe. Instead, I settled for a safer topic. 'How long have you two been together?'

'A few months.' His stern expression lightened marginally as he glanced over at his boyfriend, who was apparently arm-wresting with Dorothy, but he obviously wasn't prepared to expand.

'I'd better go and split those two up before they kill each other. No, it's safe, Relena's just stepped in. Poor girl. They'll probably both gang up on her now.'

'She - Dorothy, not Relena - seems a strange friend for Quatre to have.'

Heero shrugged. 'They've known each other since they were three or four years old. To be honest, I'm not sure if they have much in common now, but Quatre is incredibly loyal to the people he considers his friends. And he persists in believing the best of people.'

'You don't like her, do you? Duo seems to have a problem with her.'

He surprised me by shaking his head. 'I can't imagine we'll ever be close, but I do feel rather sorry for her. I don't think she has many friends; a lot of people don't want to know her since her uncle's trial last year. Even though he was found innocent, the family name was tarnished. And she and Duo tend to be jealous of each other; Dorothy was Quatre's closest friend until he met Duo and she feels left out.'

'Prisoners? Right!' Zechs drawled. 'Odd how one of them happened to be your boyfriend, wasn't it? I can't imagine he put up any significant opposition to being captured.'

Quatre had just started to object, when Wufei suddenly jumped into the breach. 'That is an unjust and unfounded accusation. Neither of them would behave so dishonourably and saying so insults them both.'

'Oh, of course,' Zechs said hurriedly. 'I was only joking. Quatre's team is clearly the winner. Winner's winners… heh heh.. Wufei, perhaps you could help me bring out the prizes? If you wouldn't mind? They're in my car.'

'I think you really don't need to worry about Zechs and Quatre,' Heero grinned at me. 'Our handsome prince seems to have fallen for your friend.'

I grimaced. ' I'm not sure if Wufei is interested, actually. He's happy being single.'

Or so he claimed, anyway. I thought a little attention from the attractive blond might do him a world of good.

'So was I, until I met Duo.' He looked at my near empty bottle. 'Can I get you another beer?'

'I'd better check with Quatre first.' I was rather enjoying sitting on the sidelines, just watching him flit around and greet the new arrivals. I hadn't thought of him as a social butterfly, but he seemed to be enjoying himself enormously. 'He drove me here, but he might want to have a few drinks to celebrate winning.'

'Oh, you needn't worry about that. He rarely has more than a glass of wine, and Duo doesn't drink. We can always drop you both home if you need a ride.'

His expression was carefully bland as he made that last comment, but there was a definite glint lurking somewhere in those dark blue eyes.

_If you need a ride…_

_Oh God._

'You probably want to go and talk to him anyway.'

'In a minute.' I took tilted back my bottle and swallowed the last dregs of beer. 'I sort of like watching him. He's a lot more … sociable than I'd imagined.'

'I think he feels he can relax when he's with people he knows and trusts.'

'As opposed to being tense and nervous when he's with me?'

'Is he?' Heero asked intently.

'Sometimes. A little.' Although, in all fairness, I couldn't really blame him for being a little nervous on our first couple of dates, not when he hadn't been with anyone for a while. And I liked feeling that I could relax him a little, coax him into letting his guard down, and talk to me.

'It's weird,' I confessed suddenly. 'Sometimes, I feel like I've known him forever, and sometimes it's like I'm walking on broken glass, trying to say or do the right thing.'

Heero fetched us a couple of beers, and I took a long swallow, wondering why I was confiding all of this to a virtual stranger, and one who would probably kill me if I hurt Quatre. Maybe he'd put something in my beer? I hadn't had nearly enough to be drunk.

'Relationships are always a little.. uncertain, at the beginning, I think. I know he likes you, but it's a long time since he's been with anyone. You just need to give it some time.'

'I know. Did you ever meet the ex?'

'Simon? No. I only met Duo and Quatre last September; after he and Simon had broken up.'

'So.. you've known Quatre for about six months?' He nodded. 'Anything special I should know? If you don't mind me asking.'

He looked surprised at the question. 'Of course not. Research is a good thing in any situation. You should probably ask Duo, but I'll try to help. He has a phenomenally high IQ; I gather he'd been accepted to a fast track programme at Harvard while he was still at school. I think that was one of the things that infuriated his parents so much; that he threw a potentially brilliant career away, just to study music.'

'I thought it was because he was gay?'

Heero shrugged. 'A combination, I imagine. Anyway, at seventeen, he gave up his family and a fortune so he could choose his own way in life. That might give you some idea of what he's like.'

'It makes him sound very…all or nothing.'

'I'm not sure that's what I meant. He has tremendous integrity. He could probably have toed the family line, and kept his private life a secret, but he refused to do that. He still tries to keep in touch with his family, but they won't acknowledge him. Of course, it probably doesn't help that he ended up choosing an obscure teaching job, rather than becoming a celebrated violinist. As a matter of interest, has he played for you yet?'

_Played for me…_

A little movie clip played across my brain, Quatre naked and sprawled on my futon as he sucked me off.

'His violin?' Heero prompted, poker faced.

'No, not yet. He's offered but we haven't really had much time, yet. Is he good?'

'I'm no expert, but Relena assures me he's brilliant. What else? He's one of the few people who can beat my stepfather at chess; he has a rather wide competitive streak, which he manages to keep under wraps most of the time. He's incredibly generous and compassionate, and people tend to take advantage of that.'

I held his gaze. 'I don't plan on hurting him.'

_I wouldn't mind taking advantage at some point though…and I'll make damn sure he enjoys every second of it._

In fact, the more I got to know about Quatre, the more I wanted him. Not just the sex, although that was bound to be mind-blowing.

_OK, Barton, don't think about blowing…._

God, though, there'd been a very interesting glint in those blue eyes as he'd tied me up. It seemed like my boyfriend was hiding a somewhat adventurous streak, and one that enjoyed dominance, under his rather reserved exterior. Very interesting.

'Ow! What the hell was that?' I snapped, as Heero suddenly reached over and slapped my neck.

'Mosquito,' he informed me blandly, withdrawing his hand. Damn, he was fast when he wanted to be; I hadn't seen that coming for a second. 'On your collarbone. They must be out early this year.' He stood up suddenly. 'Hello, Quatre. I'm going over to Duo now.'

'Hi Trowa.' He stood in front of me, his usually bright smile a little tentative, as if he wasn't quite sure of his welcome.

'Hi yourself.' I grinned up at him. 'Congratulations.'

'Thank you. I'm sorry I didn't come over before, but I had to mingle a little bit. I have friends who live outside Sanque and it's been a while since I've seen some of them.'

'That's fine,' I assured him, wondering why he looked worried. Surely he didn't think I'd be pissed off at him for spending time with his friends? 'Mingling all done now? Why don't you sit down for a minute?'

'OK.' He sat beside me on the bench, close enough for me to smell the toiletries he'd used in the shower. A light, vaguely citrus fragrance. 'Trowa, did you know you've got a little cut on your neck?'

'Oh, that must have been the mosquito. Heero slapped it away, but it must have bitten me before he got it.'

'Did he now?' His eyes narrowed slightly as he reached over to pat my skin with a handkerchief. Odd. He couldn't be jealous of me spending time with Heero, could he?

Maybe I was just imagining it. He'd never struck me as the jealous type, but maybe he just wanted a little bit of attention from me. Well, I could do that. 'Enjoying your party, honey?'

'Very much. It's wonderful how many people came.' He dropped his head onto my shoulder, leaning into me. 'I'm starting to wilt a little bit now, though.'

'I'm not surprised.' I slid an arm around his waist, pulling him even closer.

'I'm sorry if I got a little carried away earlier,' he confided softly. 'You know, with the rope and everything.'

'It was very sexy actually.' With him wrapped in my arms, and apparently quite happy to be there, I felt I could tease a little bit. 'You really are the perfect boyfriend, you know. A dreamy blond who carries rope in his pocket, just in case of emergencies.'

'Oh!' He blushed, but there was a cute little grin hovering around the corners of his mouth, just begging to be kissed. Kissing him in public made him blush even more.

'God, you're totally gorgeous, you know that?'

He muttered something, hiding his face in my shoulder. Hmm. I was really going to have to get him more used to accepting compliments.

'I was a bit worried that I'd, I don't know, scared you off a little bit.'

'You'll have to go for something way more extreme than ropes if you want to scare me off, Quatre.' I lifted an eyebrow at him. 'Tell me you're not into whips and chains.'

'Of course not!' He laughed. 'At least, I've never tried anything like that, but I can't imagine I'd like it.'

'Glad to hear it,' I told him companionably, and felt him relax against me. Well, maybe one day I'd manage to figure him out.

'Dinner's about to be served,' he murmured after a few minutes, and I let him lead me over to find a table.

Almost immediately, he jumped up to meet some late arrivals, and I turned to Dorothy. Quatre had introduced us all briefly before the game, but we hadn't had much opportunity to talk. Still, she was one of Quatre 's close friends, and any girl who could terrify Wufei by a mere eyebrow-wiggle had to have something going for her.

'How's your little dog?'

'Oh, he's fine,' she said dismissively. 'He eats bones all the time. Quatre totally over-reacted the other night; he's such a dramatist sometimes.'

'Actually, Taco almost died. He had a sharp splinter of bone lodged between his back teeth, cutting off his air supply. There's no way that he could have removed it by himself. He would have choked to death if Quatre hadn't found him.'

She blushed to the roots of her fair hair, not nearly so attractively as Quatre did. 'How dare you? It's absolutely none of your business.' She jumped up, glaring at me. 'And you needn't think Quatre will like you talking to me like that.'

'Oh, I somehow don't think Quatre will mind his boyfriend defending his honour,' a deep voice drawled behind us. 'Bravo, Trowa,' Zechs grinned at me as Dorothy stalked off. 'I hear you're a friend of Wufei's. I wonder, what do you think would be the best way to attract his attention. Or does he just like playing hard to get?'

'I think you should leave the poor man alone for a few minutes,' Quatre told him, sliding back into his seat. 'You don't even know if he's got a partner already.'

'Don't be ridiculous, Quat. If he had a partner, he wouldn't be here by himself. Am I right, Trowa?'

'Well, he is single,' I admitted, rather distracted by the sight of Quatre neatly dissecting a crab claw and licking garlic butter off his fingers. I'd never met anyone so sexy who was so totally unaware of it. 'But he's very focused on his career right now.'

'Excellent.' Zechs stood. 'That means he needs someone to show him that there's far more to life than work. Excuse me, please.'

'Good luck,' my boyfriend laughed up at him. 'And, Zechs, thank you for organising all this. You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble but it's a wonderful party.'

'Don't go all sentimental on me, Winner.' Zechs winked at me before heading off in Wufei's direction. 'Save it for Trowa.'

I winked at my laughing boyfriend. 'There you go, honey. I think that's your cue.'

He surprised me by reaching over to clink his glass against mine. 'Thank you for being here with me. I know you don't really know anyone here, but thank you for putting up with us all.'

'You don't have to thank me, Quatre. I'm having a great time.' I lifted my glass to toast him. 'Happy birthday, sweetheart.'


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer - I don't own Gundam Wing.

Note - thanks, tea and muffins, as always to Kaeru Shisho, for editing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 22:**

'Maggie's fine, Quat,' Duo tells me calmly. 'She was fine when you dropped her off an hour ago and she's still fine. Now stop worrying about her, and have a great weekend.'

'OK. It's just the first time I've left her alone all night.'

He sighs. 'I'm glad you don't have kids, you know that. Listen, Maggie knows us both; she knows Shinnie, and it's just for one night. She'll have a great time here.'

I nod. 'I did tell you she sleeps on the cashmere sweater, didn't I? And she likes playing with the squeaky ball when she wakes up?'

'You only told me about twenty times. And left a list. And you texted me three times on your way home. Kitty-Quat, relax, OK? I promise, we'll take good care of her. We won't let her drink, or get piercings, or join a weird cat-worshipping cult.' He laughs. 'Come on. It's not like we're the ones who introduced Cruella de Ville and the evil Chihuahua into her world.'

'Ha ha. Well, you can try to stop your boyfriend from taking blood from her, for a start. Since that seems to be his latest obsession.'

'Sheesh, let it go, Q. It's not that big a deal. And he said he was sorry.'

'He stole blood samples from Trowa! I'm sure that sort of thing is totally illegal.'

'Only if you get caught!' Duo fires back. 'Look, I'm sorry. I thought he'd forgotten all about it, or I'd have kept a closer eye on him. And he's only trying to help. You know he's Mr. Protective and all.'

'I know. It would…just be nice if you didn't all act like I had to be looked after constantly.'

'Maybe we back off a bit, now that you've got yourself a nice HVG. We just worry about you, that's all.'

_Well, maybe I don't want my friends feeling they have to worry about me._

'Duo, I have to go. Trowa's just pulled up outside.'

''Kay. Have fun, Quat. And don't worry about Maggie; she's going to have great fun staying with us.' He laughs. 'You know, if you're still interested, you can drop by our place on the way to Lake Victoria, and borrow some handcuffs.'

'No, thank you,' I tell him primly. I really shouldn't have told him about tying Trowa up during the paint-ball game. He is having far too much fun over it. 'I'll see you tomorrow. We shouldn't be too late.'

'Hi!' Trowa gives me a quick kiss on the cheek when I open the door. 'All ready to go?'

'Absolutely. Just let me get my stuff.'

When I walk back into the hallway, pulling a wheeled suitcase, Trowa's eyes widen.

'Ah, Quatre, you do realise we're only going away for one night.'

'I know,' I give him a bright smile. 'And I did try to pack light, but it's so hard to know exactly what to bring, isn't it?' I frown slightly. 'I'm still not sure whether I should bring my foot-spa. It would be so nice if we'd been hiking all day.'

Trowa's eyes drift incredulously from my expression to the case at my feet, in all its lurid pink glory. 'You….are joking, aren't you?'

'I can't believe you fell for that,' I crow happily, diving back into the living room for my backpack. I'm still laughing as I get into the car; I couldn't resist. Despite her promises to tidy up, Dorothy is still leaving her possessions strewn about the house. I tidied some things into the hall closet this morning and the suitcase had given me the idea.

'I stopped at that café you like, on the way here.' He hands me an insulated cup of my favourite tea and a muffin. 'If you're not too hungry, there's a really nice diner about thirty miles from the lake. We could stop there for a late lunch, and then maybe have a barbeque tonight. Is that OK?'

'Perfect,' I say happily.

The next couple of hours are, in fact, quite perfect. We take turns choosing music on the radio, and Trowa teases me over my fondness for sappy Korean boy bands, while I laugh at the his preference for country and western. By the time we get to the diner, we are listening to a guy singing about how he'd spent his whole life taking the wrong turns, until one day he let his ol' hound dawg lead him home.

'The moral of the story,' Trowa informs me as we find an empty booth, 'is always to listen to your dog. And remember that Maggie likes me.'

After we've demolished giant club sandwiches, I feel like I've already been on holiday for a week.

'Fancy taking a walk before we get back in the car?' Trowa asks as we settle the bill. 'There's a really nice viewpoint about a mile through the woods.'

The path leads up a hillside, and as we turn out of the car park, he reaches for my hand, and then pulls back. 'Sorry. Sorry. I know you said you don't like the whole public display thing.'

This time, I take his hand. 'It's not that I don't like it,' I explain haltingly. 'I'm just - not really used to it. Simon didn't like us being too obvious in public.'

'He was a fool, then.' We walk a few more yards up the path, before he speaks again. 'Can I ask you something?'

I nod, not entirely sure I'm going to like whatever he's going to ask. It's bound to be about Simon, and I'd rather not talk about him right now.

'I really like you, you know that.' It's not exactly a question, but I nod anyway. 'I just need to know that you don't still have feelings for Simon. I mean, I'm the first guy you've been with in over a year, since he broke up with you. It kind of looks like you're finding it hard to let go.'

'He didn't break up with me.' My voice, surprisingly, is very firm. 'I finished it. And the only feelings I still have for him are negative, I promise.' He tries to hide his look of surprise. Ah, he's been thinking of me as the one who got dumped. Poor sensitive Quatre who had his heart broken, and who's taken a long time to get over it.

I hadn't really planned on having this conversation, not yet anyway. Still, it's probably better if he stops seeing me as some poor, tragic victim figure.

'I - ah - are you sure you want to hear all this? Now?'

'Only if you want to tell me. You don't have to, if you'd rather not talk about it.'

'It's OK. Basically, I met Simon the night of my twenty-first birthday. It sounds stupid, but I'd always planned that when I was twenty one, I'd go home and try to make up with my parents. For some insane reason, I thought that they'd want to see me, that they'd realise I was an adult, not just a kid trying to prove something, and they'd accept me.'

He nods, gently twining his fingers through mine.

'It was quite incredibly stupid. My mother didn't even want to see me; Father told me that he would be glad to acknowledge me when I was willing to give up my 'perverted lifestyle'. He even offered to get me counselling; he said there were places that claimed to cure gays and turn them into normal people.'

'Duo and Hilde, that's a friend of his whom you haven't met yet, dragged me out to dinner that night, and then we went to a bar for a drink before going home.' I take a deep breath. 'I was really upset about everything, Trowa. Duo and Zechs had just started dating, and they were at that lovey-dovey stage.'

'I hadn't realised they were ever a couple,' Trowa says quietly. 'Is it an issue for Heero?'

'Not so much now. It was at the start. Zechs, well, he likes teasing people and Duo's a bit of a flirt, and Heero didn't take it too well. They're OK now, though.'

I sighed. Like I said, it had been an incredibly difficult period. I'd been trying to feel glad for my two best friends, and at the same time, I'd been wondering why Duo couldn't have turned to me. It's tempting to tell Trowa all that, but he probably doesn't want to hear every detail of my entire life.

'I met Simon at the bar. He asked me to dance, and that was pretty much it. He was gorgeous, sophisticated, everything you're supposed to want. I'd only ever been out with guys my own age before. Students. Simon was a few years older, and I fell for him straightaway. I couldn't believe that someone like that wanted to be with me.'

'Was he your first?' Trowa asks gently.

'No. I was pretty stupid, when I first went to University. I was messed up from being thrown out of home, and I think at some level, I thought that if my parents thought I was such an awful person, I was going to live down to their expectations.' I say it all slowly, looking down at my hand in Trowa's, and wondering how he's going to take all this.

The Life and Times of Quatre Raberba Winner, the Uncensored Version. I'd told Simon all this, when he insisted he wanted to know about my past, and he'd called me a slut.

'Anyway, Zechs sat me down one night and gave me a long lecture about how I was starting to get the wrong sort of reputation.'

Trowa snorts. 'I somehow haven't got the idea that he's celibate himself.'

'I think his point was that I needed to go for quality, rather than quantity. To be honest, he was right. It was ..nice, sometimes, just to feel that someone needed me. Wanted me. Stupid, right?'

'Not at all,' he says firmly. 'Everyone does dumb things when they leave home for the first time, honey. And you were dealing with a whole load of other stuff. In your place, anyone would have done the same.'

I give him a grateful glance. 'Thank you. Well, after that, I think I went off to the other extreme. I did date a few times, but never for that long. I got caught up in my coursework and I was trying to compose my own music, and well, I hadn't ever had a long-term serious relationship until Simon.'

Well, apart from unrequited love for my best friend.

'What did Duo and Zechs think of him?'

I shrug. 'They were pretty much wrapped up with each other at the start, and I think they were just happy I'd found someone. He could come across as very charming, perfect boyfriend material. It wasn't like they met him a lot, really. He was living in Madrid - he's a banker - but his job meant he travelled all over Europe. We had a deal, at the start, that we'd take turns to meet up in each other's city, but I usually ended up being the one who took the flights to wherever he was..'

'The long distance thing must have been hard.' Trowa comments.

'It was actually fun at the start. We went to all these amazing places, Paris and Venice and everywhere. He made me feel like a prince, you know. Like I'd fallen into some romantic novel and found my happy ever after.'

'What went wrong?'

'Everything,' I say wryly. I'm not really sure how to divulge all the next bit without sounding hopelessly naïve and foolish. 'He was really possessive; he was always finding excuses why he couldn't come to Sanque, or if he did come, he didn't want to go out with my friends. I actually liked it at the start. I thought it meant that he cared about me, that he wanted to talk to me all the time. That when we were together, he only wanted to spend time with me, and not have to share me with other people.'

'That must have been hard.' Trowa pulls me off the path, and draws me down beside him on a fallen tree trunk.

'It was. I thought that after the first few months, things would be more, well, normal. But he just got more and more jealous. He wanted to know about my ex-boyfriends. He kept pestering me, and I thought I'd just tell him and get it over with. ' I shoot Trowa a nervous little glance under my lashes. 'I wasn't that bad, really. I was always careful, and they were always people I knew, at least slightly, and trusted. It wasn't like I got drunk and went off with total strangers. Well, I told him what I'd told you and he just freaked out. I think he'd that some idea that I was this perfect, pure little virgin.'

'Hey,' Trowa slides an arm around my shoulders, and pulls me closer. 'Someone with your looks? No way. I sort of have a confession to make.' He leans to whisper into my ear. 'I'm not exactly a virgin either.'

Incredibly, it makes me laugh for a few seconds.

'Things just got worse. He started calling me at work; if I didn't answer my 'phone, he'd called the staff room or the administrators and say he had to talk to me. And he hated me seeing Zechs and Duo. He said they were bad influences, and that he should have been enough for me.'

'Prick,' Trowa says succinctly. 'So.. what finally made you dump him?'

'Simon got transferred to a permanent job in Copenhagen, and he wanted me to move in with him, full time. I thought maybe it would help. Everyone says that long distance relationships are difficult, and I thought if we were sharing a house, then it would be easier, that he wouldn't have to know where I was all the time. I didn't want to leave my job, but I took a three month sabbatical to see how things went.'

'I'm guessing things got sour at some point?' Trowa says and I nod.

'Pretty much. It just got worse. It was far worse, actually. I didn't know anyone in Copenhagen, so I was calling my friends here all the time, and Simon hated that. One morning I got up early to go for a walk and get the newspapers, and I forgot to leave a note. When I got back, we had a huge row, and I finally saw sense. About a year too late. I packed my stuff and spent the rest of the day waiting at the airport for a flight to Sanque.'

I've never actually told any all of this before, not all at once. All my friends know how things turned, of course, but they were there for the live show. It sounds really pathetic. I sound really pathetic.

'I'm sorry to dump all that on you,' I say quietly. He probably hadn't expected all of that when he'd asked. 'But you said we weren't going to play games with each other, and I think that was all Simon did with me. I was always trying to second guess him; to try not to set him off. He suffered from really bad depression; his family didn't want to know he was gay, and he used to say I was the only part of his life that kept him going. I can't believe I fell for it.'

Trowa doesn't say anything for a long moment, just pulls me into an embrace and holds me.

'He was an asshole,' he tells me finally. 'He met you at a bad time, and totally took advantage of you. Of the fact that you're a loyal, kind person, and way too good for him. You saw through him, and you had enough sense to get out. That's the main thing; you knew you deserved better.'

By the time we finally reach Lake Victoria, I've told him pretty much everything else. The time Simon threatened to kill himself if I left, the fact that I nearly lost my best friends over him.

I'm actually feeling better. Like Trowa said, I finally did realise I deserved someone better.

'Here we go.' We slow down to drive through the entrance gates to the park, following the signs to the Visitor Centre. 'I just need to pick up our keys. You want to wait here for a sec?'

I nod, trying to bite back the sudden surge of disappointment. I'd been imagining a lonely cabin on a picturesque hillside. Inside, there is a sprawl of brick bungalows labelled 'Staff Quarters' and a couple of gift shops and a playground. Well, Trowa did warn me that it wouldn't be romantic.

'OK.' He slides back into his seat, dangling a bunch of keys. 'We should be there in about ten more minutes. I might need you to get out and open a couple of gates on the track if you don't mind?'

'We're not staying here then?'

'God, no. There are a few cabins in the forest for the summer staff. We've got one of those. I hope you're going to like it.'

I do. I love it. It's exactly what I'd been imagining, except better, because it's just beside the lake, with a little sandy beach for a front garden. 'Um, Trowa,' I ask, as I follow him inside, 'in what possible way is this not romantic?'

'Well, it's pretty rustic, isn't it? You know, there isn't a Jacuzzi or plasma TV or a four-poster bed or any of that stuff.'

What there is, is a fireplace with a sagging couch before it, some hooks on the wall and two bunk beds.

Trowa grins at me, a teasing glint in his eye, as he dumps his bag on the floor. 'So…you want top or bottom?'

'I _knew _you were going to say that!' I groan loudly, hoisting myself up to the top bunk and laughing down at him.

'Yeah?' He moves to stand between my legs, sighing as I slide my fingers into his hair, pulling him in for a kiss.

Our ambitious plans for a long afternoon hike dwindle away over the next hour. By the time we've carried our stuff in from the car, collected wood for the fire, and made up our beds, over an hour has passed. We could have probably have achieved everything more quickly if we hadn't been taking frequent breaks to make out.

In the end, we take a blanket and some drinks down to the little beach and just sprawl in the sunshine.

'You don't mind not doing the hike, do you?' I ask, a little uncertainly.

Trowa shakes his head firmly. 'Not at all. We've got all day tomorrow, and honestly, it's just great to get outside the city.'

'Isn't it? I should do things like this more often.'

'I thought you were a real city guy, you know.'

I pull a face at him. 'You're not stereotyping gay violinists, are you?'

'Wouldn't dream of it. Especially not ones who kick my ass at paint-balling. You, know there are some really overnight hikes in the area, if you'd be interested, some other weekend.'

'That would be fun.' I roll over on the blanket, resting my chin on my hands, and looking up at him. 'I should come out here more often. None of my friends are really interested in hiking, and it's not much fun going alone.'

'I thought Heero seemed like an outdoorsy guy?'

'Oh, he only likes extreme sports. Rock-climbing, and sky-diving, and deep-sea kayaking, that sort of thing. Hiking's way too tame, unless it's maybe up an active volcano or something.'

'There should be a couple of kayaks here in the boathouse. We could take one out tomorrow if you liked ? Maybe get up in time for sunrise?'

'Oh, that would be fantastic! I'd love to.' Trowa laughs at my enthusiasm and I can't help blushing. 'Sorry. I know I too excited about things all the time.'

'Don't apologise,' he leans over and strokes my hair away from my face. 'I really like it that you're enthusiastic about things. And I like getting you excited.'

Another long kiss later, I lose his attention as he focuses on something across the lake. 'Quick, Quatre,' he hands me his binoculars. 'Three o'clock, d'you see them? The pair of black swans?'

'They're beautiful,' I say softly, watching the graceful birds glide across the surface of the water.

'Pretty rare, too, for this time of year.' He comments, rummaging for something in his camera bag. 'That'd be a great shot.'

'Wow.' I can't help blinking. 'That's an enormous lens.'

'Yeah, I've been told that,' he teases, fixing it on to his camera and focusing. 'Always nice to hear, though.'

'Trowa! What is this? Sexual innuendo day?'

He laughs at me. 'Well, you keep setting me up. Here, what do you think?'

Taking the camera, I gasp at the image he's captured. 'It's amazing. Do you think I could have a copy, please? I love swans; they're so graceful and romantic. They mate for life, don't they?'

'They're genetically programmed to do so,' he says and then notices my expression. 'Sorry. Can't help being a scientist. Species evolve in the way that best ensures their own survival. For some species, that means monogamy is the most efficient way to raise their young.'

'How do you explain homosexuality then?'

'Well, there are scientific theories, but I think we're the lucky ones. We get to do it for fun.'

'I've never thought of it like that before.'

'No?' Camera carefully replaced in its bag, he flops down beside me. 'I think, Quatre, that sometimes, you…think far too much?'

'Is this OK?' he asks minutes later, fingers hovering over my shirt buttons. It's rather a superfluous question at this point, given that I am gasping and writing under the ministrations of his tongue and lips and hands. He can take my shirt off, take everything off, and I won't be complaining.

Shirt off, he moves back up to kiss me, those diabolically talented fingertips dancing their way down my torso. Oh, God. I can only moan as they sweep the waistband of my jeans, dipping down for one second and then sliding back upwards. I give another needy little moan, tilting my hips forward and trying to get him to touch me there again.

'Uh huh.' He pulls back and kisses down my neck, lightly grazing my collarbone with his teeth. 'Your rules, remember, Mr. Winner? Above the waist action only. Wasn't that what you said?'

'Trowa,' I reach up to knot my fingers in his hair, trying to pull his head back down. 'Please…'

'Later, honey.' He twists free, and jumps to his feet. 'I think it's time for dinner right now, and then I've got plans for afterwards.'


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer - Still not mine. Still my weird idea of fun…

Note - thanks to KS for editing and providing some extra sap, and to Snow for the thumbs-up…and Alonzo for the picture…and everyone who's been reviewing.

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 23:**

'Trowa! I told you I don't like having my picture taken!'

OK, he had said that; several times in fairness. But the shot had been way too tempting to resist; Quatre bent over the fire we'd built, with his hair gilded by the flames, and the glowing sunset behind him.

'Then you shouldn't have bought me a photo frame,' I pointed out reasonably, zooming in for a close-up of his face. His gorgeous mouth wasn't sure whether it wanted to frown or pout; either way I just wanted to kiss it. 'Now, I just need to take the perfect picture to put in it.'

Taking it, however, was proving something of a challenge. Not that he wasn't photogenic, but he was far too good at swivelling his head at precisely the wrong moment. I'd already deleted plenty of close-up pictures of blond hair. Still, it was a novelty being with someone who didn't preen and pose when I took out my camera.

'OK you can relax now. I'm putting the evil camera away.' I wandered over to the fire, sprinkling a little more seasoning on to the chicken pieces. They were already starting to brown and smelt wonderful.

'When you said we were having a barbeque, I didn't think you meant an actual camp fire. This is so much fun!' He was kneeling beside the fire, slowly feeding it with sticks, the way I'd shown him. 'I would have brought marshmallows if I'd known; I've always wanted to roast them over an open fire.'

'You're in luck then. When you get a sec, go into the cabin and look in the side pocket of my pack.'

'Really?' He beamed at me, making me regret I'd put the camera away, and he headed straight back inside, holding the giant bag of marshmallows like a precious treasure. 'Can I roast one now? Just to try it?'

'Sure. You'll need a narrow stick; this one's fine. Now, just strip the bark off and away you go.'

'Like this? It's stating to turn black; am I holding it too close to the flames?'

'No, that's OK. They're supposed to get this nice charred skin on the outside, then they're all soft and gooey in the middle. Does that mean you've never had s'mores either?'

'I don't know. What are snores?'

'S'mores,' I corrected. 'You take chocolate digestive biscuits*, and sandwich them together with melted marshmallows. They're called s'mores because you always want some more. The little shop at the park gates should have biscuits, we can check tomorrow morning if you like. Make up for your horribly deprived childhood.'

'That would be fun.' He carefully turned his stick, making sure his marshmallow was being roasted on each side. 'Do you think this one is ready now?'

I nodded. 'You might want to leave it to cool down for a minute if you don't want to burn your tongue. Or you could just eat it now. Well, I tried to tell you.' I couldn't help grinning at the look on his face. 'Want me to kiss it better?'

It was meant to be a fairly simple, comforting kiss. It didn't stay that way for longer than it took for my lips to touch his. He tasted marshmallow-sweet, hot as flame, with just a whisper of wood smoke. Addictive.

We hadn't touched since coming up from the lake, over an hour ago, except for accidental touches as we set the fire, and got the food ready. I pulled away reluctantly with a teasing little bite to his lower lip, and moved to check on the food's progress.

I think he'd expected me to sweep him to off to bed straightaway; I couldn't quite work out whether he was happy or sad that I hadn't. He was definitely off balance; I kept catching him sneaking little glances in my direction, like he was trying to sort out what was going on.

Fair enough. He'd been confusing the hell out of me since we'd met, so I didn't feel all that bad about it.

It was still hard to believe I'd known him for such a short time; that less than two weeks had passed since I'd first seen the cute blond guy with his cute puppy.

He was such a collection of contradictions. The heir to one of the wealthiest families in the world, who'd thrown it all away to follow his dreams. He'd been brought up in the sort of luxury I couldn't even start to imagine; he'd mentioned private 'planes and an island in the Caribbean, and a personal chauffeur for each of the Winner children.

He'd never made a campfire or had a pet.

Because of his background, I'd imagined him as a city guy through and through. I knew he liked all the cultured stuff; galleries and exhibitions and classical concerts, but he'd been blissfully happy running around at the paint-balling, and his face had lit up like a flame when he got the fire started.

There was an emotionally abusive ex _(bastard!) _in the background, an estranged family, and a huge circle of wildly protective friends who obviously adored him.

He came across as a bit of a pushover at first, but he wasn't really. Once you got past the shyness and the formal manners, there had to be huge depths of integrity and determination. Plus a very definite competitive streak, a good dollop of well-hidden control-freakishness, and a liking for practical jokes. Oh, and a flair for strategy; I'd listened to enough conversations at the barbeque to realise that he'd been the one responsible for his motley team's victory.

And yeah, he was also seriously sexy, apparently without realising it. And, according to him, he'd been celibate for the past year. Apart from the futon action last week. Fuck. That particular scene had been playing over in my mind on a more or less continuous loop since it had happened. I couldn't remember ever wanting anyone so much. Then again, most of the guys I'd dated had been only too willing to drop their pants straightaway.

Shit, a month ago, if someone had told me I'd end up dating a guy who wasn't like that, I'd have laughed in his face. No way. I still wasn't sure why Quatre was so different. It wasn't like he hadn't been honest with me from the beginning, giving me the chance to walk away that first day on the beach. I still kind of liked the fact that he'd just come out and told me; I liked that sort of candid honesty.

Of course, things had turned to custard a bit after the futon episode, but we'd got over that…Oh, God. I only had to close my eyes to imagine the look on his face as I sucked him off, the feel of his mouth on me. He'd looked damn good naked as well; all that fair skin and plenty of nice, sensitive places to play with. Plenty of passion and inventiveness to play with as well.

Intriguing, definitely. Not my usual type, like Wufei had said. Quatre actually had the potential to be a friend as well as a partner, and that was new territory for me. Boyfriends were for fun and sex and partying, and friends were for deep, meaningful conversations, and exchanging confidences. I wasn't used to the two merging, although they seemed to be this time; all wrapped up in a very cute blond package.

_Shit, Barton, you are such a goner over this guy. What the fuck happened to not getting emotionally attached?_

'You know,' I handed him a full plate of chicken and potatoes, and slid one arm firmly around his waist, using my free hand to brush the drifting bangs off his face, 'I really like being with you.'

'I like being with you too,' he confided, a little shyly. 'I'm having such an amazing time. Thank you for thinking of such a perfect date.'

'And thank you for enjoying it.' I was teasing his formality, just a little bit, but I did mean it. I couldn't imagine any of my other boyfriends ever thanking me for taking them to a hut in the middle of nowhere, and offering them roasted marshmallows as a treat. 'This is one of my favourite places in the world. I'm glad you like it.'

'Oh, it's so beautiful! Duo and I used to drive up sometimes for the day, but not for ages. It's hard to believe that it's only a couple of hours from the city, isn't it?'

I nodded. 'My Dad used to bring me and Cathy out here at weekends when we were kids. Then Wufei, Sally and I did a lot of hiking around here when we were older. I know some great trails, if you're serious about wanting to spend more time out here?'

'Absolutely!' He bit into his chicken leg and his tongue flicked out to catch a little drop of grease. Adorable. 'This is so delicious. I've never eaten food cooked over an open fire in my whole life!'

'Well, you need your horizons broadened, if you ask me.' I winked at him, and he just laughed, slathering more butter over his baked potato. I hadn't realised it was possible to eat baked potatoes…provocatively, but he'd apparently mastered the art.

'I think maybe I do. Do you think that you could help me a little? Please?'

'You only have to ask,' I said softly. 'Just tell me what you want.'

He swallowed. 'That morning in your surgery, you said that if I had a problem, you wanted me to tell you about it. Do you remember? And you told me that you don't play games.'

'Yeah, I remember all that.' I'd meant it at the time; I still did, but I had to take pity on the poor guy, stumbling over what he was trying to stay. 'If you want to renegotiate the rules, that's fine, Quatre. But you've got to tell me just what it is you do want.'

'Y-yes, then. I would like, very much, to renegotiate the rules.'

'OK,' I tried to match his solemn tone. 'I can do that. Let's see, I'm guessing full sex is off limits for now, but everything else is permissible?'

'I - ah - yes. Do you mind?'

I had to laugh at that. 'Sweetheart, I was OK with us taking it slowly when you wanted that. I'm damn well not going to complain if you're ready for a little bit more.'

'Thank you,' he whispered, laying down his plate carefully and scooching over beside me. 'I've wanted to say that all day, but when we were at the lake, I wasn't sure if you wanted to…I wasn't sure what you wanted.'

'I didn't want to do anything you weren't ready for,' I said firmly. Actually, it was sort of flattering to think that I was undermining all his self control, but he still had to be the one to make that decision. 'I still don't. That's all. It's OK,' I added, kissing the top of his head. 'I know we haven't known each other all that long,' - well, not by his standards anyway - 'but we like other. There's no rule that says we can't have a little bit of fun together. And speaking of fun, if you're finished eating, it's time for dessert.'

'Oh, yes. I've got some pastries and fruit in my bag.'

'We'll have them for breakfast. I've got dessert figured out already.' I leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose, and then jumped up, pulling him to his feet. 'Come on. We've got about a mile to walk, and we might as well set out before it gets too dark to see properly.'

'Where are we going?' God, he looked cute, all confused like that, while I bent to bank the fire. Didn't want to set the whole forest alight, after all. Just a certain portion of it….

'On a mystery tour. You'll like it. Just bring your jacket and you'll need a towel.'

'I'm not going in the lake,' Quatre looked around in alarm. 'Trowa, it must be freezing.'

'I'm not taking you into the lake. Relax honey, OK? Just find a towel and I'll take care of everything else.'

He gave me a brief nod, bending down to sort through his bag. God, he had such a cute ass. It was damn hard not to just shove him on the bed, but I'd planned out a nice, romantic evening, and my self control was just going to have to suck it up.

_OK, not the best choice of words._

'Where are we going?' He asked again, as we walked out of the cabin, and headed into the forest.

'A surprise.' I grinned at him. 'What, don't you like surprises?'

'Not really.' He stumbled over a tree root and I grabbed his hand.

'That's just because you haven't had enough good ones. I promise, you'll like this.' As I said it, I had a sudden flash of misgiving. I might be taking to Quatre to my special place, but it didn't mean he was going to like it. Essentially, it was just a muddy pond in the middle of a forest. He let me keep his hand in mine for the whole hike, laughing as I tried to make him guess where we were going.

'Nope, not Santa's workshop,' I grinned, pulling him to a halt. 'Listen, Quatre, this is a surprise, right? Can I get you to close your eyes. It's just for a few minutes. I won't let you trip over anything.'

'Um, OK. I suppose.' He sounded a little uncertain; well, I'd probably be the same in his place.

'Trust me, honey,' I urged, giving him a quick kiss. Well, it would have been quick if he hadn't opened his mouth as soon as I flicked my tongue against his lips.

'Come on. And no peeking!'

I led him carefully through the trees, putting my arm around his waist for the steep bit down to the riverbank.

'OK. You can look now.'

'Trowa!' He gasped, blinking slightly. 'Is there really steam coming from the water?'

'Yep.' I relaxed, looking at his expression. Not 'why the fuck has Trowa brought me to a pond in the middle of a forest?' but sheer delight.

'I never knew there were hot springs here. I know there's the complex at the resort, but I didn't know about this. It's incredible! We've got this whole place to ourselves.'

'I don't think many people know. The park officials do, obviously, but they keep quiet about it because they don't want too many tourists stamping through here. A lot of this area is used as a nursery for growing young red oaks. The public aren't really encouraged to come here.'

'Oh!' He looked down at his feet, as if he thought he might be stepping on some innocent sapling. 'But I could have been stepping on baby trees all the way here!'

'It's OK,' I reassured him. 'They're all a couple of years old around here. Once you don't take out a chainsaw, it won't be a problem.'

'It feels wonderful.' He bent down to trail one hand through the water. 'How do you know about this place?'

'I worked here the summer I left school, as an assistant ranger. It was mostly tree planting and some trail maintenance, and I loved it.'

'Really?' He twinkled up at me. 'Did you get to wear one of the uniforms?'

'Sorry, but no. Just a khaki shirt and a badge with my name spelt wrong. Anyway, there were about two dozen of us, mostly students, living out here so it got a bit rowdy sometimes. I went off by myself one evening; I was trying to photograph owls, and I happened to find this place.'

'It's amazing,' he said dreamily. 'I love all the different ferns growing on the riverbank. And I like the fact that it's almost secret.'

'Well, it 's not _that _secret,' I admitted. 'Some of the park staff come up at here during the day. And I've told Wufei and Sally, and now you. Anyway, how d'you fancy a dip?'

He blushed. 'I didn't - ah - bring any swimming trunks.'

'You could wear your underwear if you want. Or you could just accept that we're in the middle of nowhere, just the two of us, and it might not be a bad time to try skinny dipping. Up to you. It'll be dark soon, anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about modesty.'

_And I've seen it all before …Not that I'd mind seeing it again. _

'Well, I'm going in,' I told him, while he was still obviously a bit undecided. I hadn't realised he was quite that modest; shit, with his body, he didn't have any need to be.

He really was nothing but contradictions. Back in my apartment, he'd practically ripped our clothes off, and now he was feeling nervous about stripping in front of me.

I really wanted to get to know the mischievous, sensual, fun guy who was hidden underneath all the reserve and formal manners and shyness.

'You want me to turn around while you get in? Although I can't promise I won't peek.' I slid all the way under, loving the feel of the water, letting the taste of sediments linger on my tongue. When I surfaced, Quatre had obviously thrown off his inhibitions, along with his clothes, and was floating on his back.

'Hey there. Glad you could join me.'

'Oh, it's super.' He swam a few lazy strokes over to the edge. 'I'm never going to want to get out.'

'You don't have to, not yet anyway. Now, I promised you dessert, right?' I reached for my pack, pulling out a bottle of wine and two glasses, carefully wrapped in my towel. 'Have some of this to start.'

'How on earth did you know my favourite wine?' He sipped from the glass I'd handed him.

'I asked Duo, at the barbeque.' I slid one hand to the bottom of my bag and pulled out a plastic container. 'I asked him your favourite dessert as well. Tiramisu, right? And strawberries.'

'I - I can't believe you went to all this trouble.'

I snorted. 'It wasn't any trouble. And you're worth it. I found this place about four years ago. I've always come here when I need to be - just by myself for a bit, you know. Like when my dad died. It's the best place in the world for just getting rid of stress.'

He shot me a started little glance over his wine glass.

'It's OK. It's probably been rough on you, telling me all that stuff about Simon, right?'

The blond head nodded. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump all that on you in one go,' he said remorsefully.

'No problem. I'm glad you were comfortable enough to tell me everything. Now, eat.'

I passed him a bowl full of gooey, creamy goodness.

'This is incredible! Where did you buy it?'

'A little place called Barton's Kitchen. You've been there. You see, I can cook when I don't have hot blond guys trying to disturb my concentration'

'I can't believe you made this by yourself. It's heavenly.' His tongue sneaked out to lick up every drop of cream on his spoon, and then took another swallow of wine. 'Do I really distract your concentration?'

'All the time, pretty much,' I confessed. 'Sometimes, I have to remind myself just to breathe when you're around.'

'Oh!' It came out as a gasp. Shit, maybe that had been a bit too heavy. Then I had a wet blond wrapped around me and kissing me like it had just come into fashion. OK, maybe not too heavy after all.

'I feel like that, too,' he said it so fast it was hard to make out the individual words, letting me tug him into place between my legs, settling him against my chest.

'Good. It is good, isn't it?'

'Very good.' He told me firmly, lifting one of my hands to his mouth and kissing his way across the knuckles. 'It's a little bit fast and a little bit scary, but it's really good.'

'You don't have to be scared,' I murmured. 'I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to make you happy.'

'I am,' he breathed, and then bit my thumb gently.

'Brat.' Getting him into the position I wanted wasn't all that easy; it's not that easy to handle a damp, naked, squirming blond who's hellbent on clinging to you. Once I had him floating on the water, I got one arm around his waist, keeping him afloat and stopping him from floating away from me. In my mind, we were both already soaring above the treetops, high enough to fracture the atmosphere and touch the stars..

He'd been the one to take charge the last - the first - time. Not that it hadn't been hot as damnation, but it had also been frenzied and desperate, and this time was going to be different. This time, I was going to make it last, discover what made him squeal or scream or just sigh in ecstasy.

Like I said, it's not an easy thing to do in a few feet of water. In the end, I dumped him on the riverbank and made the earth move for him while we were on _terra firma_.

Eventually.

*Chocolate digestives are rather plain biscuits that are made from wheat flour, so-called because they are easy to digest. You can eat the basic plain variety with butter or cheese, but the best ones are topped with milk or plain chocolate. According to Wikipedia, their closest US equivalent is something called Graham Crackers.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer - Alas, I don't own GW AC or any part thereof…

Note - many thanks to KS and Snow for working through this with me, and to KS for editing. Phew..this one was tough. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing and apologies for the delay between postings. A certain other story was being very demanding. Ahem!

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 24:**

'Are you all right?' Trowa asks as we finally arrive back at the cabin. By then, the delicious warmth of the hot springs, and of his body, are just a memory and I'm shivering. It's early April and there is a definite chill in the air. It hadn't helped that our towels had both got damp from - other activities - and hadn't been very effective for drying off.

'Never mind,' Trowa promises. 'I'll soon warm you up.' Just as my imagination is happily conjuring up the possible ways he can achieve this, he offers, 'How would you like some hot cocoa?'

'Oh, don't tempt me,' I beg, knowing it would take hours to boil water on our little fire, and he only laughs.

'Haven't you ever heard of 24 hour thermos flasks?' He, my magician, produces a chrome thermos and two mugs from the depths of his rucksack, along with a package of chocolate chip cookies.

'Wow. You really are amazing, aren't you?'

We sip our cocoa mainly in silence, enjoying the crackle of flames, and trying to find a comfortable place on the couch, which suffers from terminally broken springs. It's hard to find a spot where there isn't a wire sticking out.

'We'd probably be more comfortable in bed,' Trowa suggests finally and I nod, noticing that he carefully hasn't talked about sharing, leaving that decision to me. While he builds up the fire, I take charge of the sleeping arrangements, which basically involves unzipping both of our sleeping bags, and laying them flat on the lower bunk.

'You sure you're OK with sharing?' He glances up from the fire, the flames painting all kinds of shades in his hair.

I nod, just a little uncertainly, hoping I'm not being too forward. 'Well, it seems a bit silly to sleep in separate bunks, doesn't it? And it's chilly; this way we can keep each other warm.'

'You know, if you were any more perfect, I'd have to put you in a display case.'

'That sounds rather lonely.' I quickly shrug out of my clothes, and slide into the bunk.

'Oh, I'd take you out and play with you all the time. OK?' Instead, he joins me under the sleeping bags, tugging me into his arms.

'I could probably live with that.' I lean over and kiss him gently on the mouth, suddenly overcome by how lucky I am to have found him. He's the perfect one, not me. 'Thank you so much for all arranging all of this, Trowa. And for taking me to your favourite place at the springs.'

He chuckles. 'I think I might need to update the whole favourite place concept.' One hand trails down my back and locks around my waist. 'So, do you have a special place of your own? Somewhere you go when you need to sort stuff out or unwind?'

'Um, I don't think so,' I say, thinking about it. 'Usually, I talk to my friends about things, and that helps.'

He shrugs. 'I like to make decisions by myself, not to be dependent on other people.'

'Oh, well, I do too, really. But I like getting other people's perspectives. I suppose we've always shared everything.'

'You and Duo?'

'Duo, Zechs, 'Lena. Dorothy when I was younger; not so much now. Maybe it's because I was never really close to most of my family. I do have three sisters who still keep in touch with me, but they never really want to know all that much about my life, so I've always talked to my friends. I suppose you're the same with Wufei and Sally?'

'Well, yeah, I guess we do tell each other stuff, but not all the time. I mean, they don't want to hear every stupid little detail of my life, right?'

'Oh!' Thinking about it, Trowa has never really told me all that much about himself, considering he's heard practically my entire life story over the past two weeks. I know about his job, and his taste in music and films and books, but hardly anything about his childhood, or his family.

I'd thought he was just a little reserved at first, but maybe that's the way he is always. That's - rather daunting. Practically everyone I know needs to be gagged to stop talking about themselves; well, admittedly not Heero, but even he's started to open up over the past few months. Which, as Duo says, isn't an entirely unmixed blessing, given the things his boyfriend comes out with sometimes.

Oh dear. Maybe Trowa thinks I jabber away far too much and he's been wishing I'd shut up sometimes.

'Well, not every little detail, obviously,' I say hesitantly. 'But it's nice to have someone to share problems with, isn't it?'

'Is it? I don't know. I was brought up to be independent, not to keep running to other people for help if something went wrong.'

I'm not sure how to take this. Does he mean that he considers me weak for confiding in my friends? Too dependent? Has he been thinking all along that I'm too talkative, too open, too dependent on other people? But he's said he likes me…surely he wouldn't have brought me here if he thought those things…I really wish I could talk to Duo, just for one minute…

Trowa tilts his head so his hair falls down and I sweep the bangs away from his face with one finger. It's like his hair has a life of its own sometimes, and I've started to realise that it falls over his face when he's feeling uncomfortable about something. Maybe it's time to change the subject.

'So I'm not sure if I have a favourite place, exactly, but Zechs has a beach house in Nova that I love. It's an old fisherman's house, right on the dunes, and it had a deck overlooking the water, and pieces of driftwood everywhere. It's a couple of miles from the town, and it's like being on a desert island, almost. From the deck, all you can see are sand and sea.'

'It sounds cool,' Trowa agrees with enthusiasm, apparently much happier to discuss holiday homes than friendships. 'I've always wanted to be stranded on a desert island. If that happened to you, what three things would you take?'

_You. _

'Am I allowed to bring people or only inanimate objects?'

'Inanimate objects.'

'My violin, um, my 'phone and I'd have to bring about three gallons of sun cream because I burn easily. What about you?'

'My camera, my flute, and a hammock. What book would you bring? Only one.'

'Oh, that's so mean. Erm, maybe a survival handbook. Or a guide to building a boat. You?'

'The Collected Works of James Joyce, or something equally obscure. I could spend the rest of my life trying to decipher the words.'

'I've never read Joyce,' I admit.

'He was my dad's favourite author. I think he'd read all the books about twenty times. It used to drive his girlfriends crazy, that he'd rather stay at home and read, than go out with them.'

'He wasn't very sociable then?' I ask, feeling a little jealous. I would have loved parents who stayed at home rather than jet-setting around the world.

'Not really, no. He didn't mind going to parties sometimes, but he'd just come home when he got bored. I think he really preferred books and animals to people.' He grins suddenly. 'God knows how he and Miranda ever got together.'

'Sorry; who's Miranda?'

'My mother. She liked me to use her first name; I think she didn't like to be reminded that she had a kid depending on her. She wasn't really the maternal type; before I got old enough to look after myself, she was always handing me around to the other women, sometimes for days at a time.'

'Oh!' I'd imagined Trowa having an idyllic childhood at the circus, travelling all over the world in a horse-drawn caravan, playing with the animals, cooking every night on a campfire, under the stars.

'Don't look like that, honey. You don't need to feel sorry for me. It was cool. Miranda was one of the stars of the show, and that came first, always. I had a great time; I had dozens of adopted grannies and aunties who spoiled me rotten when I was a kid.'

'Do you miss it?' I ask softly, resting my head on his shoulder.

'Sometimes. But that's life, isn't it? Everything changes. I went back a couple of summers after Miranda died, to stay with friends, but it wasn't really the same. When I was fifteen, I told Dad I didn't want to do that anymore.' He leans over to ruffle my hair. 'You must be tired of hearing all this.'

'No! Really, I'm interested.'

'It was all a long time ago,' he shrugs. 'I think it's my turn to ask you a question. Let's see…when was your first kiss?'

I make a face. 'I was sixteen; it was at a classical music festival. I was playing the violin and I made friends with a boy from another school who played the clarinet and on the last night, we, well, we sneaked out together…I didn't like it much; neither of us really knew what to do and there was the whole teeth clashing thing. What about you?'

He grins. 'Let's see. I was fifteen; he was a few years older, and he worked as a lion tamer with the circus. And … let's just say that he knew exactly what he was doing.'

'How did it happen?'

'We both stayed up one night with a lioness that was due to have cubs. By dawn, she had four cubs. We thought the last one wasn't going to make it at first; then when it started to breathe, Kurt just grabbed me and that was that.'

'Wow! That sounds awfully romantic.' I can just picture the scene; a younger Trowa, an adorable family of baby animals, the bright colours of sunrise, and a dashing lion tamer..

Trowa just laughs, shifting slightly as he adjusts his arm around me. 'I hate to destroy your illusions, Quatre, but it wasn't really. We were both covered in blood and gunk, and the lion cage was stinking to high heaven. Honestly, I'm not exactly a romantic guy.'

'You're joking! After everything you've for me done tonight.'

'Oh, that. Well, it's the first time I've ever done something like that. I always thought of myself as, you know, more practical. I've never been into red roses and teddy bears and all that Valentine's Day shit.'

'Nor have I,' I assure him. 'And I hate to destroy your illusions, but I think you have a definite romantic streak. Everything tonight has been utterly perfect.'

'Well, if I have a romantic streak, you're the one who managed to find it.' He looks rather bewildered at the admission, and I have to laugh.

'I think you're a closet romantic.' As well as being incredibly sexy and attractive and gentle and kind. How did I ever get this lucky? 'You need to be careful, you know; you'll be renting chick flicks and buying soppy cards with kittens on them.'

'Dream on, Winner.' He gives me a light smack on the ass, making me squeal, and then making me forget the little sting with a long caress.

'That's so nice,' I say dreamily.

'It is, isn't it?' he teases. 'I like it that you know you have a cute ass, honey. And I like this, the two of us in bed together.'

'Me too.' I stroke one hand across his chest, teasing one of his nipples. 'So..did you think this was going to happen tonight? The two of us?'

'I hoped it would. It was up to you.'

'You could have said no,' I murmur, bending to swipe my tongue across his skin.

'Don't think so,' he contradicts, arching his back slightly as my mouth moves lower. 'No, I definitely couldn't have said no. _God, _Quatre.'

'No?' I raise my head to look into his eyes.

'No,' he gasps. 'Yes. Whatever. Just don't stop.'

'I won't,' I promise. 'Do you like this? And this?'

All I get in response is some incoherent moaning, but I'm sure it's positive. I have no intention of stopping anyway, not after how he made me feel out in the forest. Not that I hadn't returned the favour - well, once my bones had solidified, and my brain had plummeted back to Earth - but he'd come almost at once.

This time I want it to last for him. It's a shame there isn't room to sixty-nine, but one of us would certainly end up on the cabin floor.

'You know, we should probably think about going to sleep,' Trowa says after we've cleaned up a little. 'Especially if we're going to get up to see the sunrise.'

I hum in agreement. He's right of course. But I don't want to sleep, or when I wake up this incredible night will be over. Luckily, Trowa seems to feel the same way; he yawns hugely and then laughs.

'Miranda always used to say, plenty of time to sleep when you're dead. Make the most of life while you've got it.'

'That's a good philosophy.'

'Well, it was how she lived her life. I guess she liked adrenalin. Killed her in the end, though.'

'What happened to her?' The question is out before I have time to think that maybe Trowa won't want to talk about his mother's death. 'Oh, I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me.'

'It's all right. She was training one of her horses; a new stallion she'd just bought. He reared up; I guess something spooked him, and she came off. Broke her neck.'

'Oh, God. Oh, Trowa, I'm so sorry.' His expression, what I can see of it under the swathe of hair, is unreadable. He could have been quoting a newspaper article.

'Yeah,' he says heavily. 'It was quick, at least, and she was doing the thing she most loved in the world. Everyone said it was a blessing, really, that she'd died outright. She wouldn't have been able to handle being an invalid. She was way too active for that. She was so full of life; there was always a new act, a new horse, a new guy.'

'You never told me that you had a step-father. Did you like him?'

He gives me a long, appraising look. 'She never married any of them. She needed her own independence way too much to tie herself down to some guy. She just liked having fun, that was all; it's kind of different for circus people, you know? Always on the move, always some element of danger in what you're doing. I guess, we - they - have different standards.'

I nod awkwardly. 'Didn't she ever fall in love with any of her boyfriends?'

Trowa shakes his head. 'No fear. Miranda didn't believe in that stuff. She said it was just this illusion to trap people into commitment, and then they were stuck with each other.'

'But…you don't believe that, do you? I mean, you must have fallen in love with someone?'

'Nope. Never.'

I blink, not so much at what he's saying as how. Totally matter of fact. 'No. Really?'

'It is really.' He shrugs. 'Seriously, Quatre, I don't get what the big deal is about love, what all the fuss is about. From what I've seen, people just end up giving control over their happiness to someone else, and then getting hurt.'

'Don't you think that's just a little cynical?'

'I think it's realistic. The truth is, if you get attached to people, you end up losing them.'

'Well, maybe, but you can still enjoy the friendship, the relationship, while it lasts, can't you? You can learn things about yourself. And what's the alternative? That you never let yourself get close to anyone in case you lose them? I could never live like that. I need to be close to people.'

It's scary actually; the bleak image that his words conjure up. 'I don't think I could have survived without my friends being there for me. I couldn't have gone through it all by myself.'

He offers me a shrug. 'You'd be surprised what you can do if you have to. When I was eight, I had this friend, Middie. There weren't any kids my own age at the circus, so we did everything together. Then her parents got a better offer so they left. When Miranda saw how upset I was, she said, it was a lesson I'd just have to learn or I'd keep getting hurt. That people were essentially alone and I had to learn to depend on myself.'

'But that's a terrible thing to say to a child!' I blurt out, without thinking that he probably wouldn't want me criticising his mother. 'And it isn't true. Of course people depend on each other! You said yourself that your mother needed other people to help care for you, and she probably depended on the other performers in her act. You've got Wufei and Sally and your sister, and well, me. If you want. Of course you aren't alone!'

'Yeah, well,' he mutters. 'I still don't fancy the whole love thing. People get hurt. Wufei met this guy when he was nineteen. This is just between the two of us, all right? He was in his first year at university and doing work experience at one of Sanque's top law firms. Well, this older guy seduced him. Wufei's pretty intense, as you probably noticed. Coming out was really hard for him; he was the oldest son of a very traditional family and his parents weren't too happy. They'd all these plans for him to marry the daughter of friends of theirs. So Treize was the first guy he'd been with, and he dumped him once he'd had enough. No fucking way am I ever going to go through what he did.'

I swallow. 'That's appalling, Trowa. It really is. But not everyone is like that. You can't spend your whole life shutting people out because your friend had a bad experience years ago.'

'No?' He lifts an eyebrow at me. 'Look, it's not _shutting people out_, as you call it, just to be - careful. To choose the people you're going to trust. You were probably in love with Simon, and look how that turned out.'

'I wasn't in love with him,' I can say it now, thanks to a year away from my ex, and a few therapy sessions. 'I thought I was, I wouldn't have stayed with him otherwise. But, really, I loved the way he made me feel, that I was special and that someone needed me. It was worth putting up with all the bad things just to feel wanted.'

'So you've never been in love either, then?' He sounds almost triumphant.

'Oh, I didn't say that.' I take a deep breath. 'I fell in love with Duo the first time we met.'

'You're joking! So you two were a couple?'

'No. never. He - never felt that way about me.'

'I thought he was smarter than that.' Fortunately, he doesn't look jealous. More intrigued.

'Thanks. It was....awkward. We met in Peru; I think I told you that. We were both helping out at an orphanage. Duo - well, his boyfriend, Solo had died a few months previously in a car crash. They'd grown up together, and Duo blamed himself because Solo'd both been drinking and Duo thinks he could have tried harder to stop him getting in the car.'

'So does he know you liked him? It is past tense, right?'

'Right. He knows. Well, he knew. I - ah - made a pass at him a few days after we met, before I knew the whole story, and he turned me down flat. Then we got to be friends, and we ended up moving in together, as friends, when we got back to Sanque. It took me ages to get over him though.'

'Yeah, I can imagine. He's pretty hot. You're still not convincing me about the whole love thing though, honey.'

'Well, maybe that wasn't the best example. But honestly, you just have to look at him and Heero to believe it's possible. And I really am happy for him. For both of them.' I sigh. 'You've had boyfriends. You honestly never loved any of them?' I prop myself up on one elbow, and gaze down at him. 'Was it always just about sex.'

'No. Of course not. I liked them, we had fun together. And I was always honest with them, that I wasn't looking for some big emotional commitment. I told them that from the start. Most of the guys I dated were more than happy with that.'

'You never told me that.'

'No.' He looks slightly bemused, and I wonder if he's regretting that. 'I didn't, did I?'

I have no idea what to say to that, what to say to any of this. Instead, I slide out of bed, reaching for my jeans and jacket. 'I just need to take a bathroom break. Back in a sec.' Once outside, I sit on the front step, wondering how a perfect, perfect evening suddenly turned into this.

Am I only a casual fling? Maybe I just happen to be the first guy he's met since he got back to Sanque and therefore convenient for the moment, until someone better comes along. I thought we were more than that. All the things he's done for me tonight - showing me the hot springs, producing my favourite dessert, being the most gentle, generous lover I've ever had. I thought it all meant more.

I have no idea how long I stay out there alone; long enough for Trowa to come looking for me anyway. So much for my plan that he'd just fall asleep.

'Quatre?' He pulls the door closed behind him and looks down at me. 'What's wrong?'

Ah, I'm not supposed to react to all the revelations that he's never loved any of his previous partners, or apparently believes that confiding in friends is a sign of weakness.

'Nothing.'

'Then what are you doing out here by yourself?' He sits down beside me, and I move slightly away from him. 'I thought we agreed to talk about any problems.'

'Actually, that was one of _your_ rules, not mine. I guess I'm the emotional one, so I'm the one who has to open up, while you get to be the strong, silent guy, right? Well, maybe I should have told you a couple of _my_ rules. And number one is that I don't want to be with someone who thinks I'm just a casual fuck.'

'_What?_' Oh, he apparently is able to display some emotion, after all; I can't help feeling a little thrill of satisfaction that I've managed to shock him. Profanity is awfully useful sometimes.

'I don't think this is going to work, Trowa. Us.'

His jaw practically drops. OK, score two to Quatre. 'What?' he demands again. 'I thought things were going fine. What the hell is going on?'

'We're obviously looking for very different things,' I say tonelessly. 'Maybe I should have been clearer, but I'm looking for an actual relationship with someone who wants to be with _me_. I don't just want to be another notch on someone's bedpost because of my surname, or the way I look.'

'What?' Well, things always go in threes, don't they? 'I don't get you. You know I don't think of you like that. Come on, if I'd just wanted a quick piece of ass, I'd hardly have stuck around after the first day when you made it very clear you weren't into that. I don't know what gave you the idea that was all I was interested in.'

'Oh, I don't know,' I say coldly. 'Possibly the fact that you just told me you'd never cared about any of your previous partners, that you'd been with them for sex and fun and nothing more. _Possibly_ that clued me in ever so slightly.'

'I never said that!' he defends himself, shoving his hair back with one hand. 'Listen, Quatre, maybe I gave you the wrong impression just now. Just because I was never in love with my exes, doesn't mean I didn't care for them. I did. I've had four long-term relationships, and I'm still in touch with three of them. I don't think that's such a bad record. I just meant I'd never had that whole love-at-first-sight, soul-mates thing. Which I haven't. Was I supposed to lie about that?'

'No. I don't want you to lie!' I burst out. 'The thing is, Trowa, I need intimacy in a relationship. I don't just mean physical closeness, but someone who trusts me enough to share confidences, to talk to me. Someone who's going to want me in his life for more than just sex, or messing about. I did the casual sex thing when I was eighteen. It didn't work for me then, and I'm not going to start it again now. One of the things I learned from being with Simon was that I need to figure out what _I _want from a relationship, and I know I don't just want a casual fling.'

He sighs. 'We've only been going out for two weeks. What exactly _do_ you want; a proposal of marriage?'

'No! Of course not,' I turn around to glare at him. Is he truly this clueless? Even Heero was never this bad. 'I want to be with someone who wants to be with me. To be with the person I actually am. I'm not asking for any huge commitment, just to know that my partner isn't going to walk out if we have an argument or if I do something stupid. I want someone who's willing to try to make it work, even when it's difficult, and I get the impression that you want something different.'

I'm shivering as I finish; partly the cold breeze coming in from the lake, and partly the fact that I've essentially broken up with him. That's it, then. Probably better to find out now that we're incompatible, than to fall for him even more. Maybe he's right about the non-attachment thing, after all. It shouldn't hurt this much.

It hurts even more when he gets up and walks away. Right, then. We're finished. At least Maggie hasn't had time to get too attached to him, yet.


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks to KS and Snow, as per usual, and to everyone who has been reviewing.

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 25: **

OK.

Rewind.

I slammed the cabin door behind me and fought the urge to punch holes in it.

What the hell had just happened out there?

I'd thought everything had been going great.

I'd shown him my favourite place in all the universe. I'd never taken any of my other boyfriends there. Admittedly, none of them would have been keen on hiking through a dark forest to take a dip in a muddy pool. Not when there was a fancy resort up the road with a thermal spa complex and room service and plasma TVs.

But Quatre had loved it.

He'd even lifted the sex embargo. Well, relaxed it; we still weren't quite Access All Areas. But that was OK. Way, way more than OK. He'd been a little hesitant at first, but once he got going he wasn't nearly so shy or inexperienced as I'd imagined. And he was gorgeous.

Yeah, it wasn't like I hadn't planned the whole seduction scene; starlight and moonlight; wine, his favourite dessert, which I'd taken the trouble to find out from Duo, and then got up at five am to make for him.

But I'd still left what would happen up to him; it wasn't like I'd pressured him. He'd made the first move; he'd been the one who decided we were going to share a bed.

He'd fucking broken up with me, for no apparent reason that I could see, except some nonsense about love.

I didn't get it. I'd been honest with him; I'd tried so hard to be understanding and patient, and I still obviously wasn't good enough for him.

Well, screw that.

Screw him.

Yeah, bad choice of words.

I'd done every bloody thing I could think of to make him feel comfortable and relaxed and special, and he still wanted more. Maybe he was right; maybe it wasn't going to work. I hadn't a clue what exactly he did want, except it didn't seem to be me.

Fine.

Let some other poor fool get sucked into Quatre Winner's tantrums and histrionics and good luck to him.

I was in the act of reaching for my car keys when I realised I couldn't just abandon him here. Even if it was sort of tempting. I shouldn't really drive either; I'd had a couple of glasses of wine, and a good wedge of brandy-soaked tiramisu. Plus the park gates were shut; sure, I could wake up whoever was sleeping in the lodge, but then I'd have to find excuses for why I needed to leave.

Damn.

Stuck here.

I was stuck here until the park gates opened at 6 am. With him.

And he was going to catch hypothermia if he stayed out there much longer.

'Quatre.' I swung the door open; he was still sitting on the step, exactly the way he'd been. 'Come inside. It's freezing out here.'

'I'm fine.' He didn't bother to turn his head; his whole posture screaming _go away_.

Another revelation; my sweet, yielding boyfriend - no, ex-boyfriend, apparently - could be as stubborn as a stone mule on a bad day.

Serve him right if I just left him there.

Instead, I fetched a sleeping bag from inside, and dropped it around his shoulders.

'Here. I think you might need this.'

'Thank you.' He still didn't look up, tucking the sleeping bag tightly around himself like a cocoon, but his voice had that raw edge to it that made me think that he'd been crying.

I still hadn't a clue what this was all about.

'You were shivering.' I said down beside him, close enough that I could feel his body trembling. Damn, he'd been quivering in my arms not all that long ago, but for totally other reasons.

'It is cold,' he offered hesitantly. 'Thank you.' It was just bright enough to see his face, and that somehow melted away the cold core of anger I'd been feeling.

How the hell did he do that? Two minutes ago, I'd have been happy never to see him again, to get him on the first available transport back to the city, and forget I'd ever met him.

I still hadn't one freaking clue what I'd done, but something had genuinely upset him, and it had to have been me.

Shit, Barton. Get up. Walk away. You don't need this. If I'd done something that pissed him off that much, he could have damn well just come out and told me, instead of throwing this stupid hissy fit.

Fuck.

It was too late just to walk off on him, wasn't it? He'd already managed to get under my skin.

Instead, I shuffled just a little closer and took his hand. 'Yeah, it is. Quatre, I haven't the foggiest what I did but I never meant to upset you.'

'No. Like you said, you were being honest with me. It's probably for best that we finish this now, don't you think? We obviously don't want the same things from a relationship.'

'Why do you think that?'

'We're too different.'

'Is that such a bad thing? Opposites attract, right? And we've been doing OK.'

'Maybe. I don't know. Trowa, what do you really think of me?'

'I like you. You know that.'

'Why? I'm not exactly your usual type, am I? I don't just want casual sex and a bit of a laugh.'

'Why the hell do you keep saying that's all _I _want? I never told you that.'

'Yes you did! You just told me, when we were inside, that you told all your other boyfriends that you weren't looking for any sort of commitment.'

'Oh, that.' I knitted our fingers together a little more tightly. 'I never told _you _that.'

Quatre looked down at our linked hands, very intently. 'I thought maybe you were trying to. That that was what the whole conversation was about.'

'No, Quatre! No, I swear, I didn't mean anything like that. I never told you anything like that because it's not how I feel about you.'

'I don't understand,' he whispered.

Damn. He was going to make me come out and say it, wasn't he? Say something I still hadn't even figured out for myself.

'I think I maybe said stuff, back there, that didn't come out right, and I think maybe you maybe ran off before I could try to explain. Yeah, OK, I did say that I hadn't been looking for commitment, and that was the way things worked out but it was never like I wasn't open to anything more happening. Really.'

Quatre sniffed. 'What about the guys you were going out with? Maybe _they _would have liked more, but they were scared to say anything in case you freaked out and dumped them?'

Ah, shit.

'Listen, I'm not great at explaining things. It wasn't really like that. There were a couple of times when it could have been - something more, you know? But Sam, he was my first steady boyfriend, moved to Australia to study marine science, and with Elliott, I thought we were a proper couple 'til I found out he was also screwing my roommate, whom I'd considered a pretty good friend.'

'I'm sorry,' Quatre murmured softly. 'That's so awful.'

'Yeah.' I'd never really told anyone any of that. Never told anyone that I'd secretly hoped that Sam would turn down his scholarship to study in Perth in order to be with me. Or that I'd occasionally had stupid little fantasies of Elliott and I staying together. 'It really hurt when Sam left, you know? I thought maybe we could do the whole long distance thing; I was only nineteen and pretty naïve. It worked for a bit, and then he met this surfer guy. They're still together, actually; we're still friends, we email all the time…'

'But you still wonder if anything else might have happened?'

'Sometimes.' I shook my head. 'I mean, there's times when I don't think about him for weeks or whatever, and then I just sort of miss him. I never really told anyone this before.'

'Why not?'

'It was a bad time for all of us. Wufei was getting over being dumped by that bastard, who he'd thought was the love of his life, who'd been stringing him along; I told you about that. Sally was having family problems; her dad was really sick, and she was trying to cope with med school on top of that. What was I supposed to do; look for sympathy from them?'

'I'm sure they would have given it.' Quatre slipped one arm around my shoulders, squeezing gently.

'I like you because I can tell you things. That's one reason. You're a great listener, like you're really interested in what I'm saying. Some people just go through the motions, but really they're just waiting for you to shut up so they can talk about themselves.'

'I like hearing about you. Really, I do. This is the first time you've ever really talked about yourself to me, do you realise that?'

'That can't be right. I've told you plenty of things.'

'Not really,' He rested his head on my shoulder, and I somehow managed not to kiss his hair. It felt good though, having him lean against me. 'You've talked about your job and travelling and books and food and your favourite subjects at school. But you've never really talked about your family, or growing up, or your friends. I've told you more or less my whole life story.'

'Well, we've only known each other a couple of weeks. Do you always open up to people after you've just met them?'

'No. I don't.' He sounded a bit surprised at that. 'I used to be a lot more it open, a few years ago. I don't know, you're just very easy to talk to.' He swallowed. 'When we were inside, you said that you didn't believe in running to other people when things went wrong. That's what I do, really. Do you think that's such a bad thing? That I'm weak because I don't want to handle things all by myself?'

'No!' I said it fiercely enough that he actually flinched. Had he really think that was what I'd been implying about him? Well, shit. No wonder he'd run out on me. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything remotely like that. I swear. I think you're an amazingly strong person. Come on, you've told me all about how you left home. You gave up a fortune so you could do what you wanted with your life, be the person you wanted to be.' I shook my head; how the hell can he have ever thought that I believed he was weak in any possible way?

'Do you have any idea how few people would do something like that? Quatre, you left home without a penny; you lived in a homeless shelter; you worked your way through university; you had a fucking abusive boyfriend and you were strong enough to leave him and now you're brave enough to try the whole dating thing again. I am totally in awe of you, OK? I've had it so easy compared to you. My dad paid for my education; maybe he wasn't exactly ecstatic about me being gay, but he was OK with it. I've never really had my heart broken, but I'm still fucking terrified to risk the possibility of it happening because I don't know how I'd cope with it.'

He turned to look at me properly. 'I think you're amazing. And I don't want to lose you.'

He sighed. 'I - I don't want to lose you either…I'm not sure if we're compatible, Trowa. I just - don't know if I can be with someone who's so detached about everything. I don't know how you can even _be _that way.'

'Like you said, we're different,' I said softly. 'Look, I don't find it easy to talk about all this personal stuff. It's not how I was raised. I can talk to Wufei and Sally, but I've known them for nearly fifteen years. It isn't that I don't trust you, but we've only known each other for a couple of weeks. Don't you think it's a little bit early for the whole '_til death do us part_ thing? I think that's unreasonable. And unrealistic.'

'Of course it is.' He twisted his neck to look me in the eye. 'I'd like to know that you're open to more. That's all. That there might be a possibility of commitment.'

'I am committed. Or what do you think, that I'm off screwing other guys when I'm not with you?' God, he didn't think that, did he?

'No!' Well, that was a relief. 'Please, I'm saying this all wrong. I - I really like you. I love being with you. I just want to feel that you want this to be serious, that I'm not just some convenient blond guy who'll do until you meet someone better, or until it gets too difficult and then you'll finish it and walk away without a second glance because it was never _serious _in the first place. Do you understand?'

'Listen. First off, you're the one who finished it. Not me. I hadn't a clue what I'd done. You didn't bother telling me what was the problem; you just made your decision and that was that. I didn't have a say in any of it. So now you're being hypocritical.'

He chewed at his lower lip. 'Oh! I'm sorry,' he whispered. 'You're right. But I - you said you'd never been in love with anyone, that you didn't believe in it. That in your opinion, it's a bad thing because it means giving control over your happiness to someone else and then getting hurt. I don't think I could be with someone who can't trust people.'

I sighed, my breath stirring his hair. 'There are people I trust. Honestly. It takes me a while to get to know people, before I can open up to them. It just doesn't happen overnight, that's all. Everyone's different, Quatre. I bet you don't go around telling your life story to total strangers, do you? All about your family?'

'I suppose not.'

'You see? Reality check for a minute. We've known each other two weeks. That's all. Don't you think it's a little bit soon to be getting so serious?'

'All the things you said inside,' he said quietly, 'it sounded like you were warning me off. That we could have fun together, but you weren't looking for anything more. That you didn't want anything more. That's what it sounded like to me.'

'That's not entirely right.' Oh, God, was it? What did I want? I liked his company. Check. How could anyone not want to be with him, seriously? He was attractive, kind, funny, smart, liked animals and music, seemed to like me.

'Those things you said, about me being brave. They're not true. None of them. I'm so scared of being hurt again, Trowa. It's taken me over a year to get to the point where I'm even considering a new relationship. I don't want to have to go through that again.'

'Well, I don't particularly want to get hurt either, you know. And you're the one who said you can't go through life shutting people out because of one bad experience, remember?'

'I did, didn't I?' he said quietly. 'It's just…easier to say than to do. I'm scared. I thought, when you went inside back then, that maybe it was for the best. That we just end it now before either of us gets in too deep.'

'Tell me about it.' I gave him a wry little grin, encouraged when he smiled back. 'Do you have any idea how close I came just to driving off and leaving you here?'

'Why didn't you?'

'I couldn't,' I told him simply. 'But, sure there were a couple of minutes when I thought it would be the best damn thing. I wasn't looking for this, you know. Any of this. I've got a new job, I'm still getting used to living in Sanque, to working with my sister.'

'So you …don't want to be with me?'

I felt his whole body tense against me. Shit. I really was hopeless at this stuff. 'I didn't mean it like that! I'm hopeless at all of this stuff! I _love _being with you! I just meant it was … unexpected. This whole thing. I'll tell you something else you said inside; that you can enjoy a friendship, a relationship while it lasts. Can't we just do that for a while? Get to know each other a bit better, spend time together, and see what develops from that? Quatre, I do want to be with you, with the person you are. I want to be able to talk to you. All the stuff that you said you want, I want that too.'

'Really?'

I nodded, trying to work out what his expression meant. Hope; interest; maybe a little bit of sympathy for me trying to stammer all this out. Worry that he'd end up getting hurt.

All the things I felt myself, really.

'Look, honey. I'll try not to hurt you, I can promise you that much. But I can't promise that we won't fight and it wouldn't be realistic if I did. We're different people. Of course we're going to have…differences of opinion sometimes. But I'm willing to give this thing a try if you are.'

'What do you want from me, Trowa? Really?' Oh, yeah, he also had an apparent, uncanny ability to read my thoughts.

'I asked you out, remember? I meant it. I still would like to be with you. I don't just want sex, although that would be a nice bonus. I - just - you know how you don't want to jump straight into the sex? You want to take things slowly, get to know each other better. Well, that's how I feel about the intimacy stuff. This is all new territory for me.'

'What exactly is new?' Quatre inched a littler closer to me, close enough that I took a chance and put an arm around his shoulders. He didn't seem to mind, just draped a corner of the sleeping bag over my shoulders.

'Us. You. I told you before that I can't stop thinking about you and I meant it. All the time I was making that damned tiramisu, the only thing I could think about was how you'd like it. Every time I'm in the supermarket, I'm looking at stuff and wondering what you'd like, even stupid things like what sort of cereal you eat, or whether you prefer doughnuts to Danish pastries. When something funny happens at work, I want to tell you about it so I can get to see your smile.'

I took a deep breath, looking down at my hand in his, encouraged by the fact that he wasn't either laughing at me, or running away. Maybe this was the sort of stuff he actually wanted to hear? It was - difficult, saying it, but he'd lost that strained, upset look so I was probably doing something right.

'It's never just been about sex. It's everything. It's _you_. The way you look at me when I do something for you; even just some stupid thing like giving you a hot drink. And I love your smile. I can't think of anything better than to have you smiling at me every morning and last thing at night for the rest of my life. It's like sunshine. I love the way you're interested in everything I say to you, like you really want to know all about me. I never talk about my mother; it still hurts too damned much. I was there, Quatre. I saw the horse come down on her; she'd been laughing the minute before, waving to me and then she was dead, broken…'

'Oh, Trowa.' His voice cracked fractionally at the last few words, and then he wrapped his arms around me, holding him close. 'I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry.'

'Not so detached after all, am I?' I asked finally.

'It's all right.' He tilted his head and gave me a real smile. 'For your information, I like Swiss muesli, preferably the tropical fruit variety, and I love cherry Danish pastries. So now you know my favourite breakfast. Maybe you can make it for me the first time I stay over with you?'

'Sure, I can do that.' I drew a deep breath. 'So..do you like semi-skimmed or whole milk? Or yoghurt?'

'Milk, usually. Skimmed during the week. Full fat at the weekend.'

'I'll remember that. Quatre, we're OK now, right? The two of us?' He had to say yes now, hadn't he? He'd pretty much told me so. I still found that I was holding my breath, waiting for him to answer.

He nodded fervently. 'Yes! I mean… if you want us to be.'

'Have you not listened to a single word I've been saying, Winner? I'm crazy about you!' OK, words just didn't seem to be cutting it, so I pulled him close and did my best to prove it in other ways.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: As is probably apparent by this stage, I do not own any of these characters.

Note: I am dedicating this one to Wolfje on the occasion of her *drumroll* twenty-second birthday. Happy Birthday!

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 26:**

'I can wait for you if you like,' Trowa offers generously, pulling up outside Heero and Duo's house. 'I'm not in any rush; I can drop you and Maggie home.'

It is - almost tempting. I'd take him up on it if I could be sure of having my house to myself, but Dorothy will probably be there and I don't feel like talking to her right now. Besides, I really want to talk to Duo.

It's been a rather odd day. Not bad, just odd. We'd both finally fallen asleep hours after midnight. We'd kept conversation over breakfast light; I think, after all the soul searching the previous night, it was something of a relief to discuss food preferences and childhood holidays. We'd taken a kayak out on the lake for a couple of hours, and Trowa took more photographs, and we'd had lunch in the little café by the park centre before driving home.

'Thank you.' I give him a little smile to compensate for the refusal and the formality. 'But you don't have to do that. Duo or Heero will drive me home later.'

'OK.' He hesitates and then leans over and puts one hand on mine. 'When can I see you again? Tomorrow?'

I can feel my smile blossom as he asks. He does want to see me again. He _does_. 'I'd love to, but I have classes tomorrow night, I'm really sorry. '

He just nods. 'I'm working late on Tuesday, and Wednesday's your movie night with Duo, isn't it? How about Thursday?'

'Perfect,' I say very quickly, just in case he thinks I'm making excuses not to see him. 'I'd love that.'

'Good,' he echoes. 'I'll look forward to that. And Quatre. What I said last night, I meant it.'

He doesn't elaborate; he doesn't have to. He'd said he was crazy about me. No one's ever said that before.

As the front door opens, I brace myself for the usual Shinigami onslaught. Instead, Maggie scampers down the hallway, her tail waving frantically, making the oddest little whimpering sounds.

'Well, she's glad to see her daddy, isn't she?' Duo observes, as he puts out a hand to stroke her head. Maggie gives him a little lick and then snuggles back into my arms.

'I'm glad to see her too.' I say, meaning it. Actually, I hadn't imagined how much I'd mean it. It's wonderful to hold her again.

'Did she behave herself?'

'She was a total star. And she has Heero wrapped around her little paw. He was playing with her for hours yesterday; I was starting to get a bit jealous, actually.' Then he grins. 'Still, there're some games he only likes to play with me.'

'Where is he? And where's Shinnie?'

'Heero brought him and Zechs to obedience class.'

I shake my head to dislodge the bizarre image of Zechs parading around a training ring wearing a collar and leash. Actually, it's not really all that bizarre; he was rather wild when we were at university.'

'On a Sunday? I thought the classes were on Thursday evenings.'

Duo rolls his eyes. 'God, don't ask. There's some dog show coming up in a few weeks, so the dog trainer's offering extra classes for people who want to enter. Heero's decided to put Shin in the obedience trials, and of course he's determined to win.'

'Why did he bring Zechs?'

Duo laughs, leading the way into the kitchen. 'He thought that Chinese guy - Trowa's friend - might be there. He's really got it bad for that guy. You know, there's a puppy class if you want to enter Maggie.'

'I don't think so. I don't want to turn her into one of those show dogs with ribbons and all that.'

'But she'd look so cute! Anyway, never mind about all that. I want to hear everything. you guys got up to.'

'Duo!'

'Quatre!' He gives what is presumably meant to be a look of wounded innocence. 'I just want to know whether you went hiking, swimming, stuff like that.'

'Sure you do.'

'You always believe the worst of me. What'll you have to drink? Soda, juice, beer?'

'Just some orange juice, please. Or no, actually, may I have a beer?'

'Uh oh. That doesn't sound too good.' He takes two beers from the refrigerator, and snags a tube of Pringles. 'Let's go out in the garden. You can tell me the whole saga then. You are staying for dinner, right?'

'I'd love to. Thank you.'

'Now, spill!' He orders when we are settled on the bench outside with Maggie busily assembling all her toys at my feet. 'And I really do want to know everything.'

'It was…I don't know, Duo. I'll have to tell you the whole thing. Some bits were amazing; some bits were awful.'

Duo laughs. 'What; the HVG has awful bits?' He stops, looking at my face. 'Sorry, Quat. Stupid joke. Tell me.'

'Well, it started off absolutely perfect. We had a little cabin in the forest with the most spectacular view and…'

'Cabin?' he interrupts. 'What's the cabin? I thought you said you'd be staying in some staff dormitory or something.'

'Oh. Well, that's what I'd originally thought, but it was a real log cabin, right beside the lake. It was incredible. We had a campfire, and there were black swans on the lake and we had marshmallows.'

'What? On the lake?'

'No! On the fire! We roasted them; Trowa showed me how.'

'I've always wanted to do that.'

'We'll do it sometime. I know how to do it now, and I can show you. So we had dinner, and then he took me to a hot spring, right in the middle of the forest.'

'Hot, eh?' He winks. 'So I'm guessing you went for a little dip and one thing led to another?'

'Are you psychic or something?' I break off a tiny corner of crisp and feed it to Maggie. Oh dear. I shouldn't be doing that. It's probably bad for her. In return, she fetches her favourite chewy ball and deposits it in my lap.

'Nope, but you're blushing. This isn't the same as the last time, is it? When you were so freaked out after you got together with him?'

I shake my head. 'Nothing like that. We'd talked about it earlier, and I'd told him I wanted to, well, to change the rules a little bit. And then we went back to the cabin, and Trowa made a fire and we had cocoa and then we went to bed.'

'Bed as in bed single or as in beds plural?'

'Bed as in bed single. Or bunk, technically.'

'Wow. You're really starting to like him.'

'Yes, I know. Anyway, neither of us was really tired so we started talking.'

'Oh, I love that bit!' Duo cuts in. 'I can just see the pair of snuggled up and telling secrets. You're so cute!'

'Well, we started off by asking all those silly questions about what you'd bring to a desert island.'

'Huh,' Duo snorts. 'I asked Heero that once and he said the best thing to bring is a loaded pistol so you can blow your brains out when you realise you're never going to be rescued. Then he told me all about this time he and Odin had actually been stranded on an island for weeks, and that they'd had to eat raw fish and drink seagulls' blood to survive. It was totally gross.'

'Ick. Why couldn't they just cook the fish?'

He shrugs. 'I didn't ask him that. 'Course, he likes sushi so maybe it wasn't a big deal for him. Anyway, did the HVG say something really weird? Oh, God, he doesn't have some revolting fetish, does he?'

'No, he doesn't!' I take another sip of my drink. In their small, sunny garden, with Duo laughing, and Maggie cuddled on my lap, the world seems very different. 'It was…the thing is, the whole day had been utterly perfect, Duo. He'd been so romantic and thoughtful and attentive, and then it all just went wrong.'

'You'd better tell me what happened.' My best friend suddenly isn't laughing any more. 'What did he do?'

'We had a really weird conversation. He told me he wasn't romantic and then he actually told me he's never been in love with anyone. And he's twenty six!'

Duo just shrugs, taking a swallow of his beer. 'So? That's just like Heero. Maybe your Trowa just hadn't met the right guy.'

'Heero's different. Anyway, Trowa said he was perfectly happy like he was. That he didn't ever want to fall in love with someone. Don't you think that's strange?'

'Not really, no. I felt like that after Solo, that no way was I going to let myself care for someone so much ever again.'

'I know. But I can understand that; you lost someone who'd been your lover and best friend and all the family you'd ever had. And you still got over it.'

Duo takes another gulp of his beer. 'It took over five years, though. And it still hurts sometimes.'

'I know. I'm sorry. It was just - a very strange conversation. He said he'd told all his previous boyfriends that he wasn't looking for any sort of commitment, that he'd had relationships but they'd all basically been about sex and fun and nothing serious.'

'Whoa! I bet major alarm bells started ringing at that point!'

'Well, yes. And he said he didn't really ever want to be in love, because it just means that people get hurt.'

Duo just gazes at me. 'He's right, you know. People do.'

'Sometimes,' I concede. 'But not _always_. And most people I know would love to meet the perfect person, their soul mate. We both do, and Zechs falls in love every five minutes.'

Duo snorts, spraying beer all over us both. 'Don't make me laugh, Quat. He thinks he does. He thought he was in love with me, once, remember? And now he's fixated on that seriously uptight Chinese guy. There is a difference between love and lust, you know?'

'I know that,' I tilt my head back, enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sunshine. 'I just want to believe it exists, that's all. That there is one perfect person out there for everyone. And it happened to you; you fell in love with Heero the minute you saw him.'

'Did not! Don't you remember me coming home that day and ranting about the total prick I'd met at work?'

'Exactly.' I give him a smug little smile. 'You spent three hours bitching about what an uptight idiot he was, and then you told me you'd never seen anything so blue as his eyes. I think that was when I realised you were smitten.'

'Ha ha,' he mutters, but he is smiling faintly at the memory. 'So…what else did you find out about Trowa?'

'His mother died when he was only twelve. It was…scary, Duo, listening to him talk about it at first. He was just so … detached. Like he was describing something he'd read in a newspaper or something. Not like it had happened to him at all.'

'Yeah? It's called disassociation, Quat. It's what happens to people after they lose someone. It happened to me after Solo. I never wanted to go there again, open myself up to the possibility that I'd ever have to feel that sort of pain again. Then I met you and you convinced me that I still needed to have friends, people I could talk to.'

'It's never happened to me. Never.'

'Sure it has. I remember me and Zechs literally having to drag you out of your room after you broke up with Simon. You were saying you were never, never going to get involved with another guy. That you were never going to trust anyone like that again.'

'Oh! Did I really?' He nods; actually, I don't remember a lot of those first few weeks after Simon. 'But that was just after the break up. It didn't last. And it wasn't like I shut myself away from all of you; I needed your support more than I'd ever needed anything.'

'Well, that's you, Quat. Everyone's different. You're lucky, you know. You've got a group of friends who'd do any damn thing for you, and you don't have a problem sharing and asking for help. That's pretty rare for most people.'

'I'm not too….needy, am I?' I ask uncertainly.

'No, you idiot. If anything, you're the other way around. Your friends know there's not one single thing in the world you wouldn't do to help them. Shit, you go out of your way to help total strangers on the street if they need something.'

'I don't!' I can feel myself blushing.

'Yeah, you do.' Duo grins. 'Come on, you volunteer with deprived kids; you give free music lessons to students who can't afford it; you help out at the homeless shelter…'

'Stop! This isn't about me! I'm trying to tell you about Trowa. Do you know, he told me he believes people should be independent; that they shouldn't go running for help with every little problem, but they should sort it out themselves. Isn't that awful?'

He shrugs. 'It's what a lot of people think. Or maybe they just have to do it, because they don't have anyone to go to. Not everyone has this sort of relationship, where they tell their buddies everything. It's pretty rare, actually. I don't know; maybe we're all so close because none of us really has any family to speak of. You can't expect other people to be the same way.'

'I suppose not.' I pull one of Maggie's ears gently, and she lolls back against me, offering her tummy to be rubbed.

Duo leans over and tickles her. 'I'm guessing you guys somehow worked it all out, right? Since I didn't get distress calls last night?'

'Well, you very nearly did. Except it was the middle of the night.'

He snorts. 'That's stupid. You know you can call me anytime. Heero and I would've come and got you.'

'I know you would. But it would have taken a couple of hours, for you to drive from here. And I'm glad now that I didn't, because we did get to talk everything out properly.'

'Listen, d'you mind if we go inside for a sec? I just need to check on dinner.' In the kitchen, he slides a huge leg of lamb out of the oven, and arranges potatoes in the dish around it. Maggie circles around him, sniffing in ecstasy. 'I thought it might be nice to do the whole traditional Sunday dinner thing for a change. I've asked Hilde and 'Lena over as well.'

'I haven't forgotten somebody's birthday, have I?'

'No, nothing like that. I just had a sort of rough week at work and it seemed like a nice idea to have us all together.'

'You never told me things were going badly. I thought you were loving this job!'

'Yeah. The job's great.' Duo adds cloves of garlic to the dish, and places it back in the over, to the accompaniment of small whines from Maggie. 'Later, princess. It has to cook first. No, loving the job; huge old house to renovate, money no object, they want everything top quality. Just not so keen on the guy who owns it.'

'The one with the unpronounceable name?'

He nods, and then the front door opens. 'I'll tell you later. Don't say anything to Heero,

OK?'

Shinnie bounds into the kitchen, howling at the sight of his master, the smell of roasting meat, and then notices me, leaping up to lick my nose. I'm somehow not convinced that all these obedience classes are working out.

'Hi, Quatre.' Zechs follows him inside in a rather more restrained fashion. 'How was your weekend? Did Trowa mention if Wufei had talked about me at all?'

'Oh, _God_,' Duo groans, handing him a beer. 'Here we go again. Listen, where's my boyfriend?'

'He dropped us off and went to pick up Relena, since it's Pargan's day off. He said he wouldn't be long.'

'Had enough of you moaning about Wufei, had he?' Duo teases. 'And right now, we're actually talking about Quat's romance. Get in line.'

'Is everything all right?' Zechs stops in the act of raiding the 'fridge and gives me a long stare.

'Short version,' Duo grins over at me. 'Things started great, then they had this big, heavy conversation about love and commitment and Quat freaked out a bit.'

'It was awful, Zechs. I thought he was trying to tell me he only wanted a casual fling, and I told him I needed more and that I needed trust and intimacy and not just sex.'

'You told him all that,' Duo gapes at me. 'Shit! I'm surprised he didn't run for the hills. I'm surprised he's not still running.'

'I was being honest about what I want,' I tell him defensively. Maggie turns her head and gives my hand a pensive lick. She apparently approves.

Duo and Zechs exchange glances. 'Honesty is good and everything,' Duo says finally. 'But, you know, you've only known him a couple of weeks. Is it not a little bit early to get that heavy?'

'I wanted to _know_. Seriously. I didn't want to get into a relationship with someone who thought I was just a bit of fun. Maybe it is unreasonable but I just wanted to know that he was really interested in me.'

Duo shrugs. 'Look, if the poor guy stuck around for that conversation, I think that's a pretty big indication that he's interested. Really. And you said he's offered to help you house train Maggie; that's a major commitment.'

'Exactly,' Zechs agrees. 'But, Quatre, you don't _do _things like that; honestly, I think you need a few tips on dating techniques. Telling a guy all those things is on a par with a girl saying she can't wait to get married and pregnant on the first date.'

'Well, what was I supposed to do? I probably wouldn't have said all those things if he hadn't been so….he said he'd never been in love! He said all his previous relationships had just been about fun and sex and…'

'Oh, please tell me you _didn't _ask about his previous boyfriends!' Duo groans, dropping his head into his hands. 'Shit, Quat! What else did you do; ask him why he wanted to be with you?'

'Well…something like that.' I admit.

'What did he say?'

'He said…lots of very nice things.' I can feel myself blushing furiously as I remember.

'I'll bet.' Zechs winks at me. 'It was obvious at the barbeque that he was totally smitten with you, of course.'

'Was it?'

My two friends simultaneously burst into hysterical laughter. 'Duh!' Duo finally splutters.

'He couldn't take his eyes off you. Sure, he tried to join in whatever conversation was going on and be all sociable and stuff, but his eyes were glued to his cute little blond boyfriend.'

'It was utterly adorable,' Zechs chimes in. 'Really, there was one point during dinner, when I thought he was going to drag you under the table.'

'And you think that's adorable?' I wander over to the refrigerator and take out a bottle of water, hoping cold liquid might somehow cool my blushes.

'Absolutely,' they chorus.

'You do both like him, don't you?'

'Sure we do,' Duo says immediately. 'He seems like a really good guy. And he's good for you. It's great to see you all excited about someone again. And I liked the way he carried on at the barbeque; he got on with everyone but it was damn obvious who he really wanted to spend time with.'

'Wasn't it just?' Zechs agrees. 'It was so cute; he kept making sure you had enough food and wine, and then he ran off and got your jacket when you mentioned you were cold.'

'Oh, I love that about him!' I blurt out. 'He's so _kind_. Not like Simon used to be; he was always taking me to the most expensive restaurants, but he never really cared whether I enjoyed them or not. But Trowa always remembers little things like my favourite tea, and he's so sweet with Maggie. And he arranged the most romantic evening for us last night. I simply can't believe why he thinks he isn't at all romantic!'

'But that was because he'd never met the right person!' Zechs bursts in, eyes shining. 'He'd never fallen in love, and now he's met you and he has. And everything is all right! So can we talk about me now? Did Trowa mention Wufei at all ? Did he say if Wufei had said anything about me?'

'Not really.'

Duo rolls his eyes. 'Zechs, I know Wufei is hot and all, but do you really think he's your type? I mean, you don't even know for sure that he's gay, do you?'

'Of course he is!'

'You think everyone is gay!'

'Well, he is actually.' I put in, mainly to stop them squabbling over this for hours. 'But he's a very serious person, he's very involved in his work, and I don't think he's interested in having a relationship at the moment.'

'Well, then, he needs a wonderful man to show him just what he's missing, and to prove that there's more to life than work.'

Duo just shrugs. 'Don't bother saying anything, Quat. He's been going on like this for _hours._ Talk about smitten. Anyway, back to you, what did the HVG say about why he liked you?'

'Oh,' I can feel myself blushing hotly. 'He said some lovely things.'

'That you've got a cute ass?'

'No!' I can feel the blush reaching radioactive proportions. He had, actually, said something of the sort.

Zechs shakes his head. 'You've got such a need for approval. I hope Trowa is willing to spend the rest of his life complimenting you.'

'I'm nothing like that! And what about you? You were fawning all over Wufei at the barbeque to get him to notice you! Honestly, you practically rolled over to get him to rub your stomach!'

'This isn't about me,' Zechs says, rather irrationally. It's always about him. 'Do you think that would have worked? Has Trowa said something about him?'

'Duo…I don't constantly need approval, do I?'

'Well,' Duo says tactfully, 'it's more that you need positive reinforcement sometimes.'

'No, I don't!'

'Don't what?' Heero wanders in followed by Relena. 'Hello, Quatre.' He smiles at me, picks up Maggie, pulls Shinnie's ears and bends down to kiss his boyfriend. 'How was your weekend?'

'It was great,' Duo answers for me. 'They had rampant sex, and then they had a row, and then they had The Talk and now they're love's young dream again.'

'Duo!' Relena gasps, just before I can say anything. For a girl whose brother and close male friends are gay, she is rather prudish.

'Did you tell him about the DNA results?' Heero asks. 'I can't believe you forgot something that important. Quatre, Odin ran Trowa's DNA against the Interpol Criminal Database. He's clean.'

'Oh yeah, and he's not pregnant, he's not an alien, and he doesn't have any nasty diseases,' Duo chips in. 'Now, aren't you glad we did it?'

'I might be more reassured if I'd ever thought he was any of those things! And I still can't believe you stole his blood.'

Duo laughs. 'You're making 'Ro sound like a vampire. You're so boring sometimes, Quat. Wouldn't you like a boyfriend with an interestingly mysterious past?'

'Actually, no. And he has an interesting past, anyway. He grew up with a circus, remember?'

'So why did you and Trowa have a row?' Relena asks, sitting down with a cup of tea and stealing Maggie from Heero. For some reason, I never seem to be allowed to hold my own puppy. 'I thought he seemed very nice.'

'It wasn't really a row, as such. More a …difference of opinion. But we have it all sorted out.'

'Yeah,' Duo grins. 'Although actually I think we need to sit Quat down and give him a little course of topics not to bring up quite so early in the relationship.'

'Quatre seems to be managing quite well by himself,' Heero points out, conveniently forgetting the blood sample episode.

Zechs laughs. 'Of course, it does help that Trowa is totally infatuated with him. And doesn't seem to mind handing out constant reassurance.'

'Oh, please! I do _not _have a need for constant reassurance.'

'He actually said that with a straight face,' Relena giggles. Maggie, the traitor, curls up happily on her lap instead of trying to defend my honour.

'Well, you do sometimes,' Duo, who's been checking on dinner, lifts his head from the oven, and tries to be diplomatic. 'It's kind of weird, actually. You can make major life decisions no problem, and then you spend hours wondering what shirt to wear and need to be told that you made the right choice.'

'Or what to order in a restaurant,' Zechs contributes. 'Although you've eaten out with him a few times now, haven't you? He obviously doesn't have a problem with dizzy blonds.'

My best friend, who obviously feels he's been supportive enough for one day, gives me a wink. 'Don't mind them, Quat. It's probably good that he gets to find out all your faults early on. He doesn't seem to mind them anyway. I mean, he's obviously realised that you like all the romantic stuff, and he already knows that you're scarily competitive from the paint-balling, and that you apparently have a bit of a bondage fetish as well.'

'Actually, I think that's you,' I shoot back. Relena, and oddly enough, Heero both blush vividly.

'Touché,' Duo grins. 'OK, Quat, enough. Dinner's ready. Listen, I think what we're all trying to say, bottom line, is that we like Trowa, and yeah, we actually think he's got a cute bottom.'

'And a cute friend,' Zechs says wistfully.

'And a cute cat, according to Duo.' Relena is obviously glad to have another cat-lover in the group.'

'And a clear DNA analysis.'


	27. Chapter 27

-1Disclaimer: As per usual….Wufei's the lawyer, he can sort out the technicalities…

Note : For Snow; the first story from the Green Notebook….

**Chapter 27:**

Dropping off Quatre at Duo's house on Sunday afternoon and arranging to see him on Thursday hadn't seemed a big deal. It was only a couple of days, right? By Monday evening, I was missing the hell out of him. Shit. Was this the way it was supposed to go? Not like I'd never missed any of my other boyfriends, but it was usually when I was feeling horny and they weren't around.

With Quatre, sex - full sex anyway - wasn't an option, and anything else seemed dependent on his current mood, so missing him didn't make a whole lot of sense. We called and texted each other all the time, so I was still getting to talk to him.

Monday had been crazy at work; I'd been glad to get home and crash in my own home, all by myself, half sorry I'd invited Sally and Wufei over for dinner. I was wishing it was Quatre who was coming instead.

Bad word choice.

And I was feeling guilty about that, too. They were my best friends, whom I'd known for years. Shouldn't I be wanting to see them more than the guy whom I'd met a couple of weeks ago?

They turned up just as I was starting to worry that the food might be spoilt, Wufei apologising sheepishly for being late, and Sally breezing past to hug me.

'Here you go,' she handed me a large cardboard box. 'It's a housewarming present from both of us. We thought now that you had your own garden, you might like to grow some of your own food.'

'You didn't have to get me a present!' I opened the box, which was full of herbs in small earthenware pots. 'That's a really great idea, though. Thank you so much!'

She leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. 'It was actually Wufei who thought of it and I thought it was a brilliant idea.'

My Chinese friend looked a little embarrassed at the praise. 'I'm so sorry we're late, Trowa. I had some problems with Nataku.'

Uh oh….

'How is the killer hound?'

'Oh, don't ask. I had one of my neighbours on the 'phone this afternoon; apparently she was working from home today and Nataku spent most of the day howling. Mrs. Elton was furious.' He sighed. 'I don't like leaving her alone all day but I don't really have any other option. Actually, I was wondering if I could ask a favour. Of either of you.'

'If I can,' I carried three loaded plates over to the table. 'More in the pot, guys. Help yourselves.'

Wufei took a forkful and chewed thoughtfully. 'The thing is, I need to go to Nova on Thursday morning for work, and I'll be staying there overnight, and I need someone to keep an eye on Nataku. I'll probably be back on Friday afternoon, so it's really just for one day.'

'I'm really sorry, but I'm working that night,' Sally said quickly, and I had the feeling that, if necessary, she would beg, bribe or blackmail her colleagues to support this. She'd never liked Nataku since the dog had chewed a pair of her designer shoes.

'I don't mind dropping in to feed her and maybe take her for a walk, but I don't think I could actually have her here. Leo would be terrified, and my landlords live upstairs. They probably wouldn't be too keen on a dog howling all day. Why don't you ask one of your cousins? Or I'm sure you could try a boarding kennel.'

'Every member of my family already has a stunningly creative excuse as to why he or she is unable to dog-sit,' he said dryly. 'And she's been banned from most of the kennels in the city; one man actually threatened me with the police if I brought her anywhere near his premises. Apparently, my grandmother left her there last year, and she attacked his champion show dog.'

'Oh, dear.' I tried to stop my mouth twitching, then caught Sally's eye and we both had to laugh. 'Sorry. Listen, I'm quite happy to keep an eye on her if you can't find anyone else.'

'I'd be very grateful if you could. You know, when my grandmother asked me to dog-sit, I never thought it would be this difficult. She always seemed like such a sweet tempered dog when I visited.'

'She's probably still missing her owner,' I suggested. 'And that breed does form very strong attachments, as well as being rather stubborn.'

He snorted. 'Rather stubborn! Yesterday, I didn't have time to take her to the dog park and she simply refused to walk around the block with me. She just sat down and whined until I carried her home. I thought one woman was going to report me for cruelty to animals. Do you think you could possibly come over and give her some obedience classes?'

'No problem. Maybe next week, when you get back from Nova?'

Assuming it doesn't interfere with me seeing Quatre. Oh, damn. I was doing it again. Very bad. Friends always come first.

'Oh, how was your weekend, by the way?' Sally asked, apparently picking up on my Quatre-related thoughts. I was surprised she'd waited so long, actually.

'Fine. Would you like some more wine?'

'That would be great. Don't we get any more information than _fine?_'

'Don't you start.' I handed her a glass. 'I've spent my whole day dodging questions from my sister. She wanted to know every tiny detail about it.'

Yeah, and every major detail as well. She hadn't quite come out and asked 'Did you have sex?' but she's asked pretty much everything else.

'Well, she's interested,' Sally took a sip of her wine. 'Come on, at least tell us if he liked the hot springs.'

'Oh, he thought it was a great place.'

'That's it? Trowa! We want details!'

'_You _want details, being a typically nosy woman. Wufei's not interested.'

'Well, I do hope it went well for you,' he said, a little stiffly.

'Not you as well! OK, we were having a good time, right 'til he broke up with me, and then we got back together and now everything's fine.'

'He broke up with you?' Sally gasped. I should never have started any of this. 'What happened? Why didn't you tell us before?'

'What did you do?' Wufei contributed.

'Thanks a lot. It wasn't _my _fault. There was no point telling you because we sorted it out. He just had some stupid idea that I didn't want a proper relationship and that it was all just a bit of fun for me.' I gave the stir-fry mixture a savage toss, remembering how I'd felt when he'd said he didn't think it was going to work. 'What is it with that, anyway? For some reason, everyone in the universe seems to think that I'm incapable of commitment?'

'Oh, I wonder why that is,' Sally murmured. 'Maybe because you're always saying how much you like your independence? Or because you tell all any potential boyfriends that you're not looking for a serious relationship?'

'I never told Quatre that.'

'Didn't you?' Wufei stared at me, one dark eyebrow slightly raised.

'Actually, no. I want it to be serious with him.'

Damn. I hadn't meant to tell them that. Quatre was obviously rubbing off on me, with all the emotional sharing he was into.

_OK, Barton, don't think about Quatre rubbing off on you. Not right now. Later._

'Unbelievable,' Wufei drawled, both eyebrows heading for his hairline. 'You've actually met somebody you're serious about. And you're admitting it to us.'

'Why wouldn't I admit it?' Standing up, I spooned the leftovers from the pan into a serving dish and put it in the middle of the table, in the vain hope that more food would distract them.

'You never talk about the guys you're going with,' Sally contributed. 'Not really. You like him, don't you?'

Wufei saved me from answering by snorting loudly. '_Like _him! You should have seen him at the barbeque, Sally. Gazing at Quatre like a lovesick teenager for the whole night. It was utterly sickening.' He was smiling, though; and it widened when I showed him two fingers.

'Yes, actually, I do like him. A lot.'

'And he seems to like you,' Sally mentioned, helping herself to more chicken. 'The night I met him here, he couldn't keep his eyes off you. Maybe it was that sleeveless vest you were wearing! And he's really cute. I don't really get why you had the fight, though. Didn't you tell him how you felt about him?'

'I was trying to, and he sort of got the wrong end of the stick.' I filled my mouth with a loaded forkful of rice, not sure that I really wanted to talk about all this. I mean, Quatre and I had had an argument, we'd made up, everything was fine. Was there really any point in going over it all again?

'I don't know. I'm not much good at all the emotional stuff, I guess. At talking about it. There were a couple of things I said, and he took me up wrong. Like I told him that I'd told all my previous boyfriends I wasn't interested in any sort of commitment and he assumed that I meant I was telling him the same thing.'

Sally rolled her eyes. 'I wonder where he got that idea? Honestly, Trowa! You're hopeless. Of course that's what he assumed you meant! Anyone would!'

'Well, it wasn't! I was trying to say that it was different with him, that I _hadn't _told him any of that.'

'He's not psychic,' Wufei told me. 'And I think that he's perhaps a little insecure. He always seems rather shy at the youth club; not with the children so much, but he never really talks to any of the other adult volunteers.'

'I guess. He is pretty shy, considering the way he looks and everything. I was just trying to be honest with him. I mean, honesty is good, right?'

'Of course. But tact is also a useful thing,' Sally said. He nibbled a piece of chicken. 'You know, next time you drop something like that, you might want to say first off that you really do like him, but there's something you want to tell him. Just so he knows you're not planning to break up with him.'

Hmm. That wasn't a bad idea actually. I'd have to remember that one. Make sure my rather insecure boyfriend gets lots of reassurance that he's important to me. Which he is. And lots of romantic gestures.

I'd never been into any of that. Roses and cards and stupid stuffed animals. I still wasn't, but I passed a florist on the way to work and this morning I'd found myself wondering what his favourite flowers were.

God, Wufei would say I was turning into a woman if I told him any of that. Sal would probably think it was adorable. The truth was, I'd liked doing the whole romantic evening for him. Even if he hadn't wanted to put out, it would still have been good. And he'd obviously loved it. He really seemed to like me, in spite of everything.

'Listen, can I ask you guys a question? You don't think I'm too detached, are you?'

'You are …self-contained,' Wufei said carefully and Sally giggled.

'That's one way to put it, yeah! Trowa, I probably knew you for three years before you actually told me one personal detail about yourself.'

'There is nothing wrong with being self-reliant and possessing the ability to solve one's own problems! Women are far too dependent on their girlfriends, from what I have observed.'

'Oh, piff.' Sally flicked a grain of rice across the table at him. 'Sharing problems is a sign of maturity. The female of the species has evolved sufficiently to realise that, even if most of the opposite sex is too weak to reach out and ask for help.'

'Quatre tells his friends stuff,' I told her, over Wufei's desperate choking.

'Wow, an advanced male life form. What the hell is he doing with you, Barton? He seems like a smart guy and you normally pick your boyfriends for reasons other than their IQ, don't you? Or personality?'

'He thinks I should tell him things,' I muttered, ignoring the last part.

'Well, yeah. That's sort of what partners do, usually. Obviously, all your previous boyfriends were way too self-absorbed to care about other people, but Quat maybe isn't like that. Maybe he actually wants trust and sharing and intimacy, and I'm not just talking about sex, right?' She banged her wine glass down; that woman really should not be allowed to drink alcohol.

'Seriously,Tro, I love you to bits, but you need to open up a little bit sometimes. At least, I'm guessing you do if you want to keep your cute blond interested.'

'How come you get to tell me what to do?' More to the point, how did she know what I should be doing? Was it a girl thing?

'I'm the only one of us who's actually been with the same guy for nearly four years. I think that puts me ahead.'

Ouch. Good point, though.

'Anyway,' I shot Wufei an evil little grin. Time to change the subject. 'It's not just me who's found someone lately, you know, Sal. Or hasn't he told you about Zechs?'

'What?' Aha, just as I'd though. She'd leaped on to the subject of our friend's love life like a hungry lion onto a one-legged gazelle. 'You never told me! Who's Zechs?'

'A friend of Quatre's,' I supplied, given that Wufei's jaws were clamped tightly around a mouthful of chicken. 'We met him at the paint-balling, and he took quite a shine to Wufei.'

'He was a conceited, arrogant ass,' Wufei snapped, slicing into a piece of chicken as though it had just insulted his honour.

_Mmm, he did have a great ass. No, don't think about that. You're in a proper relationship now; you can't have those sort of thoughts about Quatre's friends. _

'You'll never guess who he actually is, Sal. Only Prince Milliardo Peacecraft.'

'You're joking! My God, I've seen pictures of him. He's gorgeous!'

'He's not technically a prince,' Wufei muttered. 'Since his grandfather abdicated, it's only a courtesy title. And royalty is an anachronism in a modern, democratic society.'

Hmm. Interesting that he hadn't denied the gorgeous factor….

Maybe he didn't dislike Zechs as much as he'd claimed. Come to think of it, the two of them had actually spent quite a lot of time talking together at the barbeque.

Interesting…

'Courtesy title,' Sally giggled, snorting wine through her nose. 'He's got all sorts of other titles too, you know! He's definitely considered Sanque's hottest bachelor, and the Sanque edition of _Vogue is _always printing the most yummy pictures of him.'

'Well, I'm not interested,' Wufei's mouth clamped shut. End of subject.

Sally snorted. 'Oh, please. You really don't want to be swept off your feet by a handsome prince?'

'Not remotely. I have no time for that sort of thing in my life, and beside, in case you've forgotten, I've already had an experience with the Sanque aristocracy. I have no intention of making the same mistake twice.'

I gave Sally a warning glance just to leave it at that, but she pressed on regardless. 'That was years ago, 'Fei. We both know how badly you were hurt, but seriously, you can't spend the rest of your life alone because of that. You can't let that bastard have that much power over you.'

'It's nothing to do with that!' His eyes flashed at her. 'If I do decide that I need someone in my life, it certainly won't be an over-privileged playboy who's slept his way around Europe. I rather think I can do better than that.'

'Don't be silly. He was just sowing his wild oats.' Sally's eyes took on the dewy look of a woman who's read too many romance novels. She'd always claimed she read the things to distract her from the pressure of medical school she'd qualified now and still had shelves of the damn things. 'It's such a tragic story. He lost his parents when he was just a boy and inherited the throne. It's no wonder he felt the need to break out a little. He's just looking for the right person to share his life.'

'Inherited the throne!' Wufei scoffed. 'Since Sanque is a democracy, I hardly think his duties are too onerous.'

'That's not really the point.' Silly woman; didn't she know when to leave well enough alone? 'Seriously, 'Fei. All I'm saying is that it would be nice for you to meet someone and get a little attention from someone. And if that someone happened to be tall and blond and utterly drool-worthy, well so much the better.'

'And I'm saying that I am not interested! Can you understand that?' Wufei snapped.

Oh, God. She does this every so often; I know she means well, she just wants him to be happy and meet someone but it always ends like this, with both of them glaring at each other, and tension you could cut with a rusty spoon.

'I see that new Japanese film started last weekend,' Wufei said finally. 'I was wondering if either of you would be interested going in the next couple of days.'

'I'd love to,' Sally said immediately, grabbing the olive branch. 'But I'm working nights for the next week.'

'I'll go with you. I'm meeting Quatre on Thursday, but maybe Friday?'

'I'm not sure what time I'll be back from Nova and I may have to go straight to the office. Perhaps Saturday?'

Saturday…Saturday was the night I'd been planning to entice Quatre over for a nice dinner, and hopefully a nice breakfast the following morning.

Damn. I somehow wasn't sure if he'd be up for an epic swashbuckler set in feudal Japan with my best friend along as chaperone. It didn't really seem like his sort of thing. On the other hand, I didn't really want to tell Wufei I was blowing him off to spend the night with my boyfriend.

Blowing…ahem. Down, Barton. Pure thoughts….

Sally came to my rescue. Sort of. 'He might already have something arranged with Quatre for the weekend. You can't ask him to give up a Saturday with his cute blond.'

'Of course not,' Wufei said, a little stiffly. 'I'm sorry, Trowa. It was just a suggestion; I'm sure Sally's right and you already have plans made.'

Damn; now I'd managed to offend him. He was gazing into his glass sadly, no doubt seeing a bleak future where his best friend abandoned him for a blond love interest. How the hell was I supposed to keep both of them happy; my best friend and my boyfriend? Was I going to have to make a choice at some point? No, I had no intention of doing that. Then I realised that Wednesday was a no-Quatre day anyway; the night he went out with Duo. A perfect night for Wufei and I to do something together.

'If Saturday's the only day that suits you, that's OK,' I said suddenly, letting him know that he was still important. 'Or we could go tomorrow night? We could get dinner first, and catch the early showing. You could still be home by nine thirty, latest. Will that do?'

Wufei brightened immediately, nodding and Sally gave me an approving little smile.

Yay. Successful communication! Quatre _was _starting to rub off on me….


	28. Chapter 28

Note: Massive thanks to KS for editing and to everyone who's been reviewing. I'm on holiday right now, but I will get around to replying. And I do love getting reviews….

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 28:**

Duo is grinning broadly when I walk into our favourite Italian restaurant. 'Well, well. Miracles will never cease. I actually got here before you!'

'I'm so sorry, Duo! Some of my pupils have an exam tomorrow, so I stayed late to give them an extra class and then one of them was panicking so I had to try to calm her down.'

'I'm just teasing, Quat.' Duo hands me the menu; not that I need to look at it. We've been coming to Don Giovanni's practically every Wednesday for the past few years; we know the menu off by heart. 'You're such a committed teacher; you'd probably hold those kids' hands through their exam if you could.'

'I'm not sure if that would actually help them pass a violin exam,' I tell him, and then we both turn our attention to ordering.

'So,' I take a sip of my water and look at him. 'Are you going to tell me now what the problem at work is?'

'Ah, shit. I should've known you wouldn't let that go. Look, Quat, can you just forget I ever said anything? It's stupid.'

'It's not stupid if you're worrying about it,' I say firmly. 'Just tell me, all right? Otherwise, we'll sit here for the next two hours with me nagging you and you know that you'll just tell me in the end.'

'Fine, fine. Whatever. The thing is, it's nothing I can even put my finger on, you know? Just a…a feeling?'

'About the guy you're working for?' He nods. 'Duo, you're probably the most perceptive person I've ever met when it comes to judging people. You don't like him, do you?'

He shakes his head, nibbling a breadstick. 'Nope. That's the thing. There's no real reason not to like him. I mean, he's paying us really well, never quibbles over us doing overtime, signs cheques without even looking at them, and he seems to think we're doing a great job. And I guess he's pretty nice; you know, he brings us coffees and stuff, and he's always saying how much he loves our work.'

'But…'

'It's totally stupid, right? It's just - OK, you swear you won't tell Heero any of this? I mean it, Quat.'

'I won't. Has he…tried to hit on you?'

Duo shrugs. 'Not exactly. No. I could deal with something like that, just tell him I'm already taken. It's - I've caught him looking at me a few times, and it's…sort of creepy.' He hesitates, crumbling the remains of his breadstick on to the tablecloth, and then takes a deep breath. 'I'll tell you what it's like. When I was living on the streets, I used to see these rich guys slumming it with the hookers. They'd look at the kids like all they had to do was crook one finger and they'd get whatever they want. That's how this guy looks at me sometimes.'

'That's horrible, Duo.'

'Yeah. It really freaks me out. The thing is, the first couple of times, I didn't really pay too much attention when he wanted to watch me work; said he found it interesting or whatever, and I figured it was no big deal. It's his house, right? He's the one paying the bills. And then he started, I don't know, looking more at me than what I was doing, and it just…it's gross, Quat.'

'Have you told Howard?'

'Nothing to tell, really. What am I supposed to say? That I want us to quit this amazing well-paid job because the guy who's paying us has a weird way of looking at people?'

'You know Howard wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable. And he'd listen to you.'

The waitress brings our starters and we both fall silent for a minute. 'We can't just walk out. There's a contract; he'd sue our asses for not completing the job. And word gets 'round in this business; no one's going to want to hire renovators who can't even finish the work they've started. If we do a really good job on this, he'll probably recommend us on to his friends, and we could do with the business.'

'Anyway, it's only for another couple of weeks. We should finish then and I'll never need to see him again.' He takes a deep breath. 'I was wondering if I could ask this huge favour.'

'You don't have to ask, you idiot.'

''Kay. Thing is, I've got to go in on Saturday morning to do some stuff; Howard's going away with his bowling team, so it'll be just me in the mansion, and I was wondering, would you mind coming and helping? It'll just take a couple of hours and I'll pay you and everything.'

'Of course I will. And you don't need to pay me, Duo. It'll be fun; I've been dying to see this house anyway. It sounds amazing.'

_And I'll watch your back, which is rather the main point…_

'It is pretty cool. Thanks, Quat. Just he said he'd probably drop by on Saturday, and I'd rather not be there alone. I'd ask Heero but, well, you know how protective he gets.' He looks down at his plate, braid drooping in sympathy. 'It's not like I can't handle myself. Just I'd probably freak out if he did try anything when I'm alone with him, and then he'd have me arrested for assault or something.'

'It's no problem. Honestly. I'm just glad I can help. Now, what film are we going to see anyway?'

Duo flicks his fork around his pasta sauce. 'I don't suppose you'd fancy that Japanese Samurai thing?'

'Not terribly. I didn't think you'd be interested in something like that.'

'Um, I'm not really. Thing is, Heero's going to see it with Zechs and I haven't seen him much lately, what with him training Shinnie for the dog show, and me working a lot of overtime. I know Wednesday is always just the two of us, but, well, would you mind? Just this once?'

'I don't mind at all, silly. Why is Zechs going? He hates those long epics.'

'Duh!' Duo grins suddenly. 'Earth to Quat. In what universe is he not going to like a movie full of hot Asian guys waving swords around?'

'Ah. Good point. I'm don't really care what film we go to see, and it would be fun for us all to do something together. Provided Zechs isn't going to go on and on about Wufei. He's been driving me insane lately. He wants me to act as some sort of matchmaker for the two of them.'

'Well, he deserves marks for trying,' Duo says tolerantly. 'And I wouldn't worry; he's got the retention span of a goldfish when it comes to guys. He'll probably have forgotten all about 'Fei by now.' He laughs. 'It's probably good for him to meet someone who's not fawning all over him for a change. He can charm the pants off most people without even trying.'

I raise my eyebrows at him. 'Are you speaking from personal experience there?'

'Sure I am! Hell, I wasn't going to turn down some sizzling hot prince who wanted to spend time with me.' He shakes his head. 'No way! I'd never thought that someone like that would ever want to be with someone like me.'

'Duo, don't talk like that! You're an amazing person!'

'Whatever. I'm being realistic, Kitty Quat. He's royalty and I grew up on the streets. There's usually only thing his sort want with people like me and it's not the pleasure of my sparkling personality, right?'

'But…Zechs wasn't like that! He really liked you. He still does!'

'I know that,' he says quietly, reaching out to ruffle my hair. 'He's one of my best friends. I'm just saying because of who he is - you know, the title, the palace, the incredible body - he just bowls most guys over. It's probably good for him to meet someone who's ZR - Zechs resistant.'

'Hmmm. I don't know about that. Or at least, you're perfectly right about that. But Wufei genuinely doesn't seem interested, and Trowa says he's not looking for a relationship right now.'

My friend shrugs. 'I'm not sure if he's as uninterested as all that. He sure spent a lot of time with Zechs at the barbeque. And he was giving him some pretty interested glances on the rare occasions when Zechsy was talking to someone else. It'd be kind of nice if those two did hook up; we could all go on treble dates. And then have orgy parties!'

'Duo!' I gasp, scarlet.

'Quatre. You're just way to easy to tease, you know that? And speaking of dates, how's the HVG behaving himself?'

'He's great,' I say, smiling happily. 'I'm missing him though. We're both really busy at work this week so I haven't seen him since Sunday. We were planning to meet for lunch today and then he had an emergency so he couldn't make it.'

'That's pissy,' my friend comments. 'But he's staying in touch, right? Lots of 'phone calls and naughty texts and flowers?'

'No flowers, no. But we call each other all the time, and we're going out tomorrow night.'

'Somewhere nice?'

'I'm not sure. Just dinner, I think.'

'Dinner's good. Actually, you have to bring him over some Sunday evening to eat with us.'

'That would be wonderful. I'll check when he's free and let you know.' Sunday dinner for Duo is something of a ritual; an occasion for his closest friends to get together. Inviting Trowa is an unequivocal way of showing that my new boyfriend has been accepted. 'Thank you.'

'No problem. He seems like a decent guy so far, and it's time Heero and I got to know him a bit better. Since it seems like he's going to be sticking around for a while.'

I nod, holding his gaze. 'I really hope so.'

'Good! Heero's dying for a chance to sit down and talk to him properly.'

'You're not going to interrogate him, are you? Promise me.'

'Sheesh, Kitty Quat!' He rolls his eyes at me. 'It's not like we're planning to torture him or anything.' He tosses me a sly little grin. 'We won't need to, anyway. Odin's got this new truth drug from one of his buddies in the CIA and he's been dying to try it on someone. It's totally colourless and tasteless; the HVG won't have a clue what's going on and we'll be able to find out all his darkest secrets. And his PIN number!'

'Ha ha….I'm not _that _gullible, Maxwell.' I'm sure he's joking, anyway. Probably. Possibly. 'I'm not bringing Trowa anywhere near either of you unless you promise to behave yourselves. I mean it.'

'You're no fun,' he complains. 'But, yeah, we'll play nice. Don't want to mess up your shiny romance.'

'Good. I really do like him, Duo, you know. And he's going to help me train Maggie at the weekend.'

'You should just send her over to our house. Shinnie could probably teach an obedience class at this stage. How's my little princess?'

'Mag-gie is fine,' I say, enunciating my pet's two syllables clearly. 'I wish you wouldn't call her that.'

'What; Princess? It's her real name; on her Kennel Club papers and everything. Maguanac Desert Princess.'

'Well, I know, but it just sounds so gay!'

'Memo to Quat; we are gay, remember?'

'I'm not that gay! And if I called her Princess, I'd have to put ribbons on her tail and buy her a diamond collar or something.'

He laughs. 'Like the one Dorothy's little Mexican rat wears, you mean?'

'I suppose so. Listen, if you really want to see that film, it starts at seven. We should probably get moving.'

Zechs pounces on me as soon as we walk into the cinema. 'Quatre, how nice to see you. Tell me, have you had a chance to talk to Trowa yet about his friend?'

'Um, not exactly. But Trowa did say Wufei was very wrapped up in work right now and doesn't have a lot of free time.'

'He seems to have some free time tonight. He's over there,' Duo chips in suddenly, pointing to the food stands. 'Buying popcorn.'

Actually it's Trowa who's buying popcorn; Wufei is standing beside him, though, holding a sports drink and looking disdainfully at the array of confectionery. He gives me a polite smile and then stands aside so I can talk to my boyfriend.

'Quatre,' Trowa gives me a delighted smile. 'What are you doing here?'

'Going to see a film, hopefully. We're going to the Japanese Samurai saga. What about you?'

'Same. I didn't think this would be your sort of thing,' he murmurs.

'Oh, it's not really, but Heero and Zechs were going, and Duo wanted to be with Heero so…' I shrug, suddenly delighted with Duo's choice of film. This way, I get to sit with Trowa for two hours, quite unexpectedly. Or maybe not; he's here with Wufei; he might just want to sit with him.

'Cool. We can all sit together. So can I get you some snacks for the movie?'

'I've actually just had a huge dinner.'

'Then you need to eat dessert. Come on, we can get a big bag of sweets and share them.'

By the time we've filled a bag of our favourites at the Pick and Mix counter, the others are all ready to go into the cinema. Duo is beaming indulgently at the two of us; Heero is checking his watch; Zechs is turning the charm on Wufei, and Wufei looks ready to run.

Oh dear. I somehow can't see those two ever getting together.

Inside, Duo immediately scrambles onto Heero's lap, Wufei stares fixedly at the screen, and Zechs ignores the hot Asian guys on the screen in favour of covert looks toward the equally hot and equally inaccessible Asian guy at his side.

I can't remember the last time I went to the cinema with a boyfriend. Simon hated the cinema. God, it's hard to remember now what I ever saw in him. I _love _going to the movies. Darkness and a fantasy world on screen and the smell of buttery popcorn and my boyfriend a few inches away. It would be perfect if he'd just put his arm around me.

Hmmm. I slouch down a little further in my seat, inching slightly closer to his arm rest. Surely he'll take that as a hint.

'Are you OK, Quatre? Can you see all right?'

'Yes, thank you.'

Duo and Heero are snuggling; Wufei is apparently trying to pretend he's on a different planet. Zechs is practically drooling over Wufei's admittedly perfect profile.

This is rather boring, actually.

Although, I suppose I can't blame Trowa for behaving like a perfect gentleman. After all, I did tell him I'm not terribly comfortable with public displays. I can't complain if he respects my boundaries.

I'd rather like him to disrespect them at the moment.

Come on, Winner. He's your boyfriend. He said he was crazy about you. Of course you can get him to put an arm around you.

Accordingly, I move just a little closer to him, sliding my arm on to the rest between our seats. Instead of taking the hint, Trowa murmurs something that sounds like an apology and shifts farther away, allowing me my personal space.

Great. He'll be changing seats next. Or running away….

He's still holding the bag of sweets on one knee, and I lean over, taking my time to pick out a chocolate Brazil nut, and brushing my fingers against his.

Lord, he's dense. Instead of grabbing me, he hands me the bag of chocolates, eyes still fixed on the screen.

Blast. All I want to do is snuggle my boyfriend a little bit. Why is he being so obtuse? What am I going to have to do; physically pick up his arm and drape it around my shoulders?

I pick up his arm and drape it around my shoulders, and then tense.

Maybe he doesn't approve of public displays in the cinema? Maybe he wants to watch the film and I'm distracting him? Maybe he just isn't into cuddling?

Oh dear.

His arm settles around me and suddenly I'm snuggled blissfully against him. He's still watching the action on screen - an army of computer-generated Samurai is fighting what looks like a dinosaur - but there's a tiny smirk on his lips.

'You should have just told me this was what you wanted, honey.'

_Yes, well, maybe next time I will….._


	29. Chapter 29

Note: this is for Snow, something to laugh at over breakfast (I hope…) - N

**Chapter 29: **

'Wow,' Duo bubbled as we all trooped out of the cinema, two hours later. 'That was a really cool movie.'

'Did you actually see any of it?' my boyfriend quipped and I had to grin. I loved the way those two teased each other constantly; how very comfortable they were with each other. I really wanted Quatre to be able to mess around with me like that.

Well, along with sorts of other messing around.

'Speak for yourself, Winner!' Duo shot back. 'You didn't look like the action on screen was actually capturing any of your attention either.'

'Maybe I would have needed to pay attention if there had been an actual plot with dialogue,' Quatre informed him loftily. 'And at least I stayed in my own seat for the duration of the film. You and Heero could have saved money by just paying for one between you.'

'Yeah, we'll remember that for next time, right, Heero?' Duo nudged his boyfriend in the ribs and Heero slid an arm around his waist; that was one couple who definitely didn't have a problem with showing affection in public.

'What did you think of the film, Wufei?' Zechs asked, apparently picking up that my friend wasn't particularly comfortable with all this byplay.

'The costumes and weapons were from the wrong historical period,' Wufei told him blightingly. 'But what can one expect from a so-called Hollywood historical drama? The fight scenes were adequately choreographed, but the love interest was patently absurd. The hero was supposed to be on a quest toward personal enlightenment; there was no need for him to indulge in a distracting romance.'

'Yeah, that bit with the princess was stupid,' Duo piped up, given that the others seemed to be stricken dumb by my friend's movie analysis. For Wufei, the best part about seeing a film is always critiquing it afterward, and then declaring how it could be improved. 'The guy should totally have got off with his best friend instead.'

Wufei's mouth twitched suspiciously into something resembling a smile. Aha, he wasn't quite immune to Duo's charm, then.

'So…' Duo continued, 'we were going to get a coffee or something, if you guys want to tag along. There's a really nice little café down the block where Quat and I always go.'

'Good idea, Duo!' Zechs said heartily. 'It would be so nice for us all to get to know each other properly.'

I glanced at Quatre, who beamed back. 'Oh, please come. If it's not going to interfere with any other arrangements.'

I opened my mouth to agree, and then caught sight of Wufei's pleading gaze, obviously begging me to take him away from these maniacs.

'Sorry, Quatre. I'd love to go, but Wufei's got to catch an early flight in the morning, and I promised to drop him home after the movie.'

'If you want to stay, that's fine,' my friend interjected. 'I can catch a bus.'

I shook my head. 'No, I said I'd drive you. It'll take you hours if you have to wait for the bus.' I smiled at Quatre, who was looking rather disappointed. I couldn't help feeling a bit pleased about that. 'I'll see you tomorrow evening anyway. Enjoy your drink.'

'I'd be delighted to drive you, Wufei,' Zechs said suddenly. 'I have an early appointment too and I wasn't planning to stay late either. '

'There is a perfectly good public transport system and, in any case, you have no idea where I live. It may be miles out of your way.'

'That doesn't matter!' the prince blurted. 'I love driving. It would be a pleasure to take you home,' he said more formally. 'If you will permit.'

'Ah…very well. If you insist, I would be very grateful. Provided it doesn't cause you any inconvenience….' Wufei was blushing slightly, something I hadn't seen him do for years as he held Zechs' gaze. 'If you don't mind, I - ah, excuse me a moment…'

He took off for the Gents as if a fire-breathing dragon were after him. Oh, boy…

'Trowa,' Zechs hissed, grabbing my arm. 'I seriously need some help here. He's not just playing hard to get, is he? Why doesn't he like me? He seems to like everyone else. Duo even made him laugh. What am I doing wrong?'

_Everything…._

OK, I couldn't say that. Be diplomatic.

'I think maybe you're trying a little bit too hard,' I said diplomatically, which was the understatement of the century, but he was one of my boyfriend's closest friends, and he did seem to like Wufei, and Wufei seemed to be….not quite so detached as he'd claimed to me and Sally.

'Just be yourself. And stop asking him so many questions. He doesn't really like talking about himself. You know, just talk about more general stuff.'

'And less drooling would be good,' Duo contributed.

'Stop looking like you want to gobble him up,' my boyfriend put in.

'If you are really interested in a relationship with him, you will need to check his police record and background.'

'Heero! Stop that!'

'Zechs does have a certain position in the Sanque government. It makes sense for him to run thorough checks on any potential partners.'

Duo nudged Quatre, muttering someone about Zechs having a lot of other positions as well. Maybe I wasn't meant to hear that, and I'm sure Heero wasn't, but he was saying something about how Zechs needed to be more careful. 'Stop being so paranoid!' Duo stopped laughing with Quatre and stopped his boyfriend in mid-sentence. 'Don't listen to him, Zechs. Just lay off the charm a little bit with Wufei, OK? It's not working.'

'Duo's right,' I told the bewildered-looking prince. 'Wufei's not really into flirting. You need to show him you're serious.'

'Serious, right. I can do that. Do you think I should just ask him out directly? Or maybe send him flowers first?'

'Shit, don't send him flowers. He'd probably be insulted! No, I meant you have to show him you're a serious person. You know, talk about politics or the environment or something.'

'Here he is,' Duo hissed and we all immediately tried to look casual, not like we'd just been discussing - what we'd been discussing.

'So, Wufei,' Zechs asked smoothly as they walked off together, 'Have you seen the _Sanque Times _today? It looks like there may be a General Election soon, if the government keeps performing so badly in the polls….'

'Oh, man,' Duo collapsed against his boyfriend laughing. 'Is it just me or are those two too hilarious for words? What's the betting they either kill each other or have wild jungle sex before they even get out of the car park? It's OK, Trowa,' he added more seriously, catching a glimpse of my expression. Should I have just offered to drive Wufei home regardless? But he'd accepted Zechs' offer…. 'Your buddy will be fine. Zechs is an excellent driver and he's got a really cool sports car.'

Shit. I wasn't sure how my very sheltered friend would cope with all of that. Maybe I should just go after them and insist on taking Wufei home?

'Don't worry,' Quatre said quietly, falling into step beside me as we left the cinema and giving me an anxious little smile. 'I know Zechs can come across as a little….outrageous, but he's really a wonderful person. And he seems to like Wufei a lot.'

Ah. Of course. I'd told Quatre all about Wufei's last romance and my clever boyfriend had picked up on the fact that I was worried about it happening again. It wasn't that I didn't like Zechs; he seemed OK and I knew he'd been a good friend to Quatre, but still…

'It's just that Wufei isn't into casual stuff, and Zechs has - well - a bit of a reputation.'

'He was a lot younger then,' Quatre defended his friend softly. 'He was very young when his parents were killed, and he had to take on so much responsibility. Sometimes, he just needed to let off steam. He's calmed down a lot in the past few years. Please don't worry about Wufei. If he isn't interested, he can just say so.'

'The thing is,' I confessed, 'that I think he might _be _interested. I haven't seen him like that in years; he was actually blushing and he got all flustered. It's OK. He can look after himself. Now, can we stop talking about them? It's great that I get to see you like this.'

'Isn't it?' he beamed up at me as we followed Duo and Heero into a small coffee shop and found a table by the window. 'Have you ever been here before, Trowa? They do the most wonderful desserts and pastries.' He pointed out a delicious array of goodies at the counter.

'Looks wonderful. You want to share something?'

'I'd love that!'

Ah, I loved his enthusiasm for everything. 'Why don't you go and choose something? And tell them to put on extra cream.'

'Good call,' Duo approved, winking at me. 'You've noticed he's got a sweet tooth, right? The way to a man's heart is through his stomach and all?'

'Technically, that isn't true,' Heero proclaimed. 'The most efficient way to reach a human heart is through….'

'Heero!' Duo snapped. 'Remember we had that conversation about inappropriate topics of conversation when we're in public? Well, that's one of them, OK? Trowa, you might want to go and help Blondie there to decide what he wants to get. Otherwise, he'll be there all night. And while you're there, would you mind ordering something for me? Anything with chocolate is fine.'

'If you eat chocolate now, you'll be hyper when we get home,' Heero noted.

Duo just grinned. 'And you're complaining about that why, exactly?'

'What are the choices, honey?' I joined my boyfriend at the counter, guessing that Duo had really just wanted a little time alone with his lover.

Quatre looked at me, the most adorable little frown on his forehead. 'Either dark chocolate sponge with raspberry purée, or sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce. I'm no good at deciding what to have.'

_Why don't you have me, covered in raspberry purée if you'd like?_

'Get both,' I suggested instead, quashing an image of my lovely little blond covered in butterscotch sauce. _God_… 'I'm sure Heero and Duo will help us eat them. Or they have tiramisu if you'd prefer?'

'Oh,' he blushed slightly, suddenly very interested in the tiles at his feet. 'I don't think so. It wouldn't be nearly as nice as the one you made for me the other night.'

_Yeah, and we wouldn't be eating it naked it either…._

Hmmm, maybe I should make more tiramisu the next time I managed to entice him into my house?

'Uh, Heero,' I asked when we were all sitting back down, with Duo and Quatre at one end of the large table, studying the drinks menu. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Certainly. I may not answer if I feel the information is unnecessary or inappropriate for you to know.'

'Right.' Shit, how the hell had someone like Duo ever managed to hook up with this guy? Or vice versa? 'I just wondered…do you know Quatre's favourite flowers?'

'You need to talk to Duo.' He waited for our respective boyfriends to sample each other's cakes, and then distracted Quatre's attention, claiming he needed advice on a chess problem, showing him a computer print-out and letting Duo drag his chair down beside me.

Duo didn't burst out laughing when I asked him the same question. 'I was thinking of maybe getting him flowers and I thought you'd know what he'd like. Or if he'd like flowers at all from; I mean, I don't want to do the wrong thing…'

'Are you kidding? He'd be over the moon. Let's see. First off, he hates red roses; he thinks they're a total romantic cliché so don't get him those.'

'No roses,' I nodded 'Got it.'

He shook his head. 'No _red _roses. Other colours are OK. He loves yellow and white and he likes flowers that have a strong scent. Freesias and lilies are good, but not those big Stargazer ones. He thinks they're pretentious, and definitely no carnations and he…OK, you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, have you?'

'I know roses,' I confessed. 'The other ones you said…no idea.'

Duo just grinned, taking out his wallet and digging around in it. 'You sure you're gay? Look, try this place.' He handed me a small business card. 'My friend Hilde works in this flower shop. She knows Quat; she'll help you pick out something he'll like.'

'Thank you.' I slid the card into my pocket. I'd been thinking more in terms of picking up a bunch of readymade flowers at the supermarket, but Quatre would probably love a special bouquet. 'So, should I get these flowers delivered or bring them in person?'

'Up to you, really. If you give them to him you get to see his face; if you get them delivered, he'll have a bit of time to think up a nice way to thank you.' He winked. 'You'd probably like that. Listen, Q said you were taking him out tomorrow. You probably have plans and stuff, but there's this really nice little seafood restaurant that's just opened down by the harbour. Heero and I were there last week and I think Quat would love it. I have a card somewhere; yep, here you go. You'd probably want to make a reservation.'

I nodded. 'I was actually going to cook for him. Do you think he'd prefer to go out?'

'Seriously? I think he just wants to spend some time with you. He'll be happy whatever you decide to do.'

I glanced over at the other two; Quatre had taken out a pencil and was busily scribbling on Heero's paper, engrossed in what he was doing. 'Duo….how do you think I'm doing?'

He considered the question seriously; wow, he was actually capable of silence when he wanted. 'Overall, pretty good, actually. Sure, there was that major blip when he dumped you, but it looks like you sorted that one out OK.'

'I'm not very good at the whole romantic thing, and I know he likes that.'

'You're kidding me, right? He hasn't stopped talking about your weekend!'

'In a good way?'

'Duh! Of course in good way! He loved it; the cabin on the lake; the springs, everything.' He gave me a little grin and I could feel my skin start to heat up. Oh, God, I know Quatre said that he and Duo told each other everything, but surely not…that sort of everything. 'Seriously, he lapped it all up. I'm his best friend and I couldn't have come up with a more perfect date. Well, maybe apart from the fight you guys had.'

'Good.' I hadn't realised I'd been holding my breath, waiting for an answer until he replied.

'There's something else.' He bit his lip, suddenly serious for once. 'Shit, I can't believe I'm going to say this. I wouldn't, if I didn't think you were a decent guy, and really good for him. I know he's told you about how he wants to take things slowly and that you're OK with that…'

'I'm not sure if OK is exactly the term I'd use,' I said honestly, 'but it's what he wants and I respect that.'

'Yeah. The thing is, it's great that you're letting him set the pace and all, but don't let him think you're not interested, OK? He's way, way too sensitive for his own good, and if you don't make the first move sometimes, he'll start to doubt that you're really attracted to him, and then he'll start to wonder what you're doing with him and things'll just go to hell on wheels.'

I nodded. Damn, he had to be right. It was like what had happened in the cinema. I hadn't touched him at first because I didn't know if he'd want me to. Once I'd realised he did, it had been a bit of a game to make him show how much he wanted it. Maybe I should have just grabbed him instead and hoped for the best? 'I don't want to offend him, though.'

'Trowa, he's an adult. He can tell you his limits. If he's not comfortable with you putting your hand on his ass, he'll let you know, believe me. And it's not like I'm saying you should pounce on him in public; just show him a little affection now and then. It won't kill him to have his boundaries pushed a little bit, and he loves the touchy-feely stuff. You can do that, can't you?'

'I can try. It's just hard sometimes. It's difficult, I mean. I really want to make him happy, but I'm never sure when I'm doing the right thing, or when I'll just upset him.'

'Stop right there,' Duo commanded sharply. 'Listen, of course, you're going to have rows sometimes. He won't expect perfection. He wants someone who's loyal and kind and honest with him, and you're doing a pretty good job so far. Carry on treating him like you do. You're damn well doing _something _right, whatever it is. He likes you a lot.'

'I like him too.' I couldn't believe how easy Duo was to talk to.

'And Trowa…don't worry about your friend and Zechs. Quat maybe didn't tell you, but I went out with Zechs for a while, years ago, and he won't hurt Wufei. I know he's got this bad reputation, and some of it's true, and some of it's just the media making up stories about a cute royal, but he's a good person. Quat wouldn't have him as a friend otherwise.'

I nodded. 'Quatre's told me how much Zechs means to him. I just…Wufei's my best friend. I'd love him to meet someone, but I'm not sure if Zechs is right for him.'

Duo shrugged eloquently, braid swinging. 'Maybe; maybe not. I've only met Wufei a couple of times but he seems pretty uptight about life. Someone like Zechs might be good for him, you know? Listen, one last question, before our SO.s decide we're not interested in them and hook up together. You're not remotely jealous of Zechs, are you? Or me? We're all really close, but that's the way we are.'

'Why should I be jealous? Quatre's my boyfriend. He's known you and Zechs for years; if he'd wanted to be with either of you, he's had more than enough time to do something about it. I'm just glad he's got such good friends.'

'Wow,' Duo breathed, those incredible purple eyes widening. 'Perfect answer. Next time Quat throws a hissy fit over something, you tell me and I'll kick his skinny ass for you. Deal?'

'His ass isn't skinny!' I snapped. 'It's perfect!'

Duo fell around the place laughing. 'Oh, Barton, you walked right into that one! Still, it's nice to see you're all defensive and stuff….you don't need to worry about trying too hard. I think Quat's got lucky with you and he seems to know it too.'

'What's so funny?' Quatre looked over at us enquiringly.

There was a scary moment when I thought Duo would repeat what I'd said, but he just grinned. 'Private joke, Kitty Quat. Can I have my boyfriend back now? And I was thinking, it's probably best if Trowa drops you home later, since he lives in your direction and everything.'

'Whereas you live ten minutes' away,' Quatre commented. 'Trowa, ignore my incredibly unsubtle friend; you don't have to drive me if it's not convenient.'

'Of course I'm taking you home.' Or I could take you to my home and put you to bed and…. 'I'd have offered before I'd known you didn't have your car with you.'

'Thank you. You and Duo seemed to be getting along really well,' Quatre remarked, sliding his chair down beside me and seeming pleased that I'd been talking to his best friend. 'Aren't you going to tell me the joke?'

'Sure you want to know? He set me up to admit your ass was perfect. Which it is.'

'Oh!' Quatre blushed prettily. I really was going to have to start paying him more compliments. Although I liked seeing his the colour in his cheeks deepen like that, and wondering if his blushes spread all over his body. That thought let me down the slippery slope to thinking about that very perfect ass, and wondering when I'd get to see it again in its natural state. Saturday maybe, if he agreed to stay over…

'He loves teasing me in public,' Quatre sent Duo a glare across the table and his friend laughed.

'I'd much rather tease you in private,' I whispered, pulling my chair close enough that I could breathe it into his ear. Then, since our table was in a little alcove and the place was pretty much deserted I flicked my tongue around his earlobe. I wouldn't have done it if Duo hadn't pretty much given me the green light to be more affectionate in public but Quatre's reaction was … very satisfactory.

Aha, someone really liked having his ears touched. Interesting discovery. There was still so much I didn't know about what he liked.

'Like that, honey?' I sat back in my chair and took a long swallow of coffee. It was a purely rhetorical question; that cute little gasp when I'd touched him had shown me just how much he liked it.

He just nodded demurely, and then proceeded to eat a spoonful of his chocolate cake in the least demure way imaginable, holding my eyes the whole time. Brat; just as well we were in a public place.

'Aren't you going to share with me?'

'Of course I will.' He looked down at his plate for just long enough to load the spoon with cake and raspberries, and then leaned over, only smiling when my tongue darted down to lick his fingers as well.

Wow. Whoever thought eating cake could be so damn sexy?

Actually this whole _pushing Quatre's boundaries _was turning out to be fun, especially since he seemed more than happy to co-operate with me….


	30. Chapter 30

-1Disclaimer: As per usual…

Note: Thanks to KS for editing and laughing…

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 30:**

Zechs calls just as Maggie and I are settling into bed for the night. She's exhausted from scampering up and down the stairs after her favourite ball; I've had a long day and I'm yawning as I pick up the 'phone.'

'Quatre! It's me. I need you to thank Trowa for me; all of his advice was really useful.'

'Mmmph. That's nice. I'm glad you guys got on. So you talked about politics on the drive home?'

'Not exactly. We obviously have somewhat differing views on the subject, so I took Trowa's other suggestion and we talked about the environment. I told him all about the Sanque Forestry Commission meeting I attended last week. You know, they're trying to increase the percentage of the countryside devoted to hardwood forests, specifically Sanque Red Oaks.'

'Right. Ah, was he interested in that topic at all?'

'I think so,' he sounds a little doubtful. 'He did ask a couple of questions, although, come to think of it, none of them were related to trees. Oh, _shit_, Quatre. He probably thought I was mad. He's just so…..self-contained. And _quiet_! I was babbling just to say something. I can't make him out at all. Hell, half the time I think he doesn't remotely like me, and then…..I'm probably just imagining it all.'

'I think he needs to get to know you a little bit,' I suggest gently. 'Just try to make friends with him before you get into anything serious. I could maybe ask you both to dinner some night and see how that goes, if you like?'

'Dinner!' he exclaims. 'I forgot to tell you, he's agreed to have dinner with me on Saturday.'

'_Really_? But that's super! How did you get him to agree to that?'

'That isn't very flattering, Quatre. He merely realised what a charming, charismatic person I am.'

'Albeit one with a rather disturbing tree fixation? OK, I'm teasing. You see, he must like you even a little bit if he's going out with you.'

There is a pause on the other end of the line, long enough for me to remove my pyjama cord from Maggie's mouth. Ugh. It's disgustingly soggy. 'Well, I did actually offer to do him a small favour.'

'Oh?' Maggie, relieved of her new toy, curls her tongue around my hand instead. 'What sort of favour?'

'He has to go out of town for a couple of days and he needed someone to take care of his dog tomorrow night. Apparently Trowa had offered to help out when he could, but Wufei was still rather worried about leaving the animal by itself, so naturally I volunteered.'

'Oh! He didn't tell you anything about the dog, did he? According to Trowa, she's a total monster that destroys everything in her path.'

'I'm sure he's just exaggerating. He didn't happen to mention what breed it was, did he?'

'I don't think so. I think it's a big dog, though.'

'Damn. Why couldn't he have had a miniature poodle or something? Still, it doesn't really matter. It's not like we can have it inside the palace, since Pagan is allergic to dogs. It can stay out in the stable and one of the grooms can take it for walks. It can't do much damage there.'

'I think it's brilliant that he trusts you enough to take care of his dog,' I say, trying to cheer him up a little. 'I'd never leave Maggie with someone I didn't really like and trust.'

My pet looks up at me with liquid dark eyes, imploring me never to leave her with anyone.

There is silence on the other end of the 'phone. 'I did, ah, possibly intimate that I had some experience with training dogs for the show ring.'

'Oh, Zechs! You didn't! You don't know anything about dogs! You've never even had one.'

'I certainly have! When I was very young, I had a Labrador puppy.' He sighs sentimentally. 'Her name was Flopsy and she was my best friend. I was devastated when Mother said she needed more space to run around and we were sending her to a wonderful home in the country.'

'Oh-kay.' It's probably best to skate over the issue of why any dog could possibly need more space than the extensive Palace grounds; something that's apparently never occurred to him. 'But you can't just lie to him like that! You know nothing about dog training!'

'Perhaps not, but I've been schooling my own horses for years. I'm sure the principle is exactly the same.'

'Mmm. I'm sure Wufei will be thrilled to come back and find his dog can jump over your cross-country course!'

'Very funny. God, Quatre. I know it's stupid, but he mentioned the damn dog and I had to say something. It seemed like a great idea at the time.'

Oh dear. Maggie, perhaps sensing some sort of negative vibrations, abandons her gentle nibbling of my finger and nips it sharply. 'Ouch! That hurt, sweetie. I don't mind you chewing a little bit but you can't use your teeth.'

'Quatre! Is Trowa there? What's the thing he's doing with his teeth? Did it really hurt or was it good in a sort of pain/pleasure way?'

'No, you pervert! It's Maggie. She bit my finger.'

'Oh.' He sounds a bit disappointed that my boyfriend and I aren't indulging in weird, dentally-fixated sex. 'I thought you might have invited him in for a nightcap, no?'

'I did, but he has to go to work early. He just dropped me off.'

'God, he's so committed, isn't he? Didn't you mind?'

'Well, not really. I like that he takes his job so seriously. We're going out to diner tomorrow anyway. And, well, he's asked me to his house on Saturday night. To stay the night.'

'Has he now? And you've accepted?'

'Sort of.'

I haven't been entirely honest with Zechs. Trowa did take me home, and he did say he couldn't come in because of work, but we stayed out in his car for rather a long time before I got out. Just talking at first, about our evening, and our friends, and then there was quite a long period of _not _talking. Trowa suggested the sleepover at the end of that; I think, by that stage, I would have agreed to anything.

He is rather incredibly good with his mouth. And his hands.

'So you're going to sleep with him? Finally?'

'Not necessarily. And I don't know what _finally _means. I hardly know him.'

He snorts. 'You know perfectly well what I mean. There's no law that says you have to know someone a certain period of time before you have sex with them. It's pretty damn obvious you like him.'

'Is it?'

I can just imagine him rolling his eyes at that question. 'Good Lord, Winner. I don't know how you dare to say you don't have a need for constant reassurance!'

'I don't! And that isn't what I asked. Is it really obvious how I feel about him?'

'To me, maybe. Because I know you so well. But, no, it's not that obvious. Anyway, what's wrong with letting him know you like him?'

'Nothing, really, I suppose.' I pull my pillows flat on the mattress and flop down.

'You'll be fine, Kitty Quat,' Zechs says gently, borrowing Duo's nickname for me. 'It's pretty damn obvious that he likes you as well. And, seriously, you don't have to rush into anything until you're ready. If he really likes you as much as we think, he'll wait.'

'You like him, don't you?' I scoop Maggie, who's chewing one of my slippers, from the floor and cuddle her, waiting for him to reply. He may joke about my need for constant approval, but the truth is that I do value his opinion.

He and Relena are my oldest friends. Zechs is the first person I ever officially came out to; he's the one who guided me through my first year at university, who sat me down after the first couple of months and gave me a long lecture about how I was carrying on.

He's my honorary big brother, and his opinion means a huge amount.

'I like him, I think,' Zechs says slowly. 'I don't know him that well, but I like the way he's treating you so far, and I know Duo approves of him. He's good at reading people. Ah, what do you think of Wufei?'

'I don't really know him that well. To be totally honest, I'm not sure if you two have a lot in common; he's very reserved, very serious.'

'I know,' Zechs sighs. 'He's not remotely my type, and I can't stop thinking about him. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.'

'Well, like I said, you should get to know him a little bit better. And it's great that he's agreed to have dinner with you. That's a good sign.'

'I hope so. I'd better go; I have to collect the dog at five in the morning.'

'OK. Good luck.'

The distress call comes thirty minutes before lunch.

Our school secretary, Shelley, knocks at my classroom door and sticks her head in apologetically, motioning me outside.

'I'm really sorry, Quatre, but Zechs is on the 'phone in my office. He insists on talking to you; he says it's some sort of emergency.'

Drat. He's probably found a split end or something.

He is practically raving down the 'phone when I answer. 'Where the hell were you, Winner? Why don't you answer your damn 'phone? It wasn't even switched on when I tried to call you!'

'I'm at work, Zechs. You know that thing that some people have to do to make money? And I keep asking you not to call me at school.'

'Well, you have got to come over here right now! I mean it, Quatre!'

'Zechs, calm down. I can't just walk out; I'm in the middle of a class. What's the matter?'

'Fuck your class! That dog's possessed by a demon or something! It's insane. It's bitten everyone and it's chased Relena's damn cat all over the place. You have to come over and sort this mess out.'

'Me! I don't know anything about it. Can't you call the animal shelter or something? Or I can give you Trowa's number; he knows the dog and he should be able to help.'

'No, I can't bloody well call Trowa! Then he'd tell Wufei and Wufei would think I couldn't even look after his dog for a couple of hours. Get your ass over here; it's your fault anyway.'

'What? How is it my fault all of a sudden! It's nothing to do with me!'

'Oh, you blame yourself for everything! Why can't you accept responsibility for this as well? Seriously, Quatre, I need you to get over here before I kill that brute. Pagan's threatened to resign and he's been with my family for almost fifty years. He's coped with my grandfather's abdication and my parents' death, and the scandal with Uncle Karl, and this devil dog is in the palace a few hours and he wants to walk out on us.'

Twenty minutes later, I'm zooming up the Palace avenue, Shelley having kindly offered to supervise my class while they start their homework assignments. Oh dear.

Pagan, the Peacecrafts' butler who also doubles as Relena's chauffeur, opens the door to me, tears streaming down his face. 'Master Quatre! Thank Heaven you've arrived! Look at this!' He brandishes a piece of frayed, soggy tapestry in my face. 'Queen Marguerite herself, God rest her soul, embroidered this and that animal, that hellhound has ruined it!'

Oh _no_.

'Don't worry, I'm sure it can be mended. And it's not worth getting so upset over, anyway.'

'I'm not upset,' he snaps. 'I'm furious! And all my allergies are playing up.' He mops one sleeve across his streaming eyes; the first time I've ever seen him without a perfectly laundered linen handkerchief.

'What's going on? Where's the dog?'

I hope Zechs hasn't shot it or something. That won't advance his cause with Wufei. Even if the dog is a total monster, he is probably still attached to it.

'In the library. With Master Zechs.'

'I thought he was going to keep it in the stables.'

'That was the intention, yes. But the animal howled persistently for over two hours - Master Zechs is of the opinion that it may be part werewolf - and upset the horses. The stable girls flatly refused to touch it, so he had to bring it inside.'

'Did it really bite everyone? Is it that dangerous?'

'Not really. It did bite Master Zechs in the car, I believe, but that may have been self defence. He was attempting to reprimand the creature for being sick on the passenger seat.'

'Not his new car?' I gasp. 'The leather upholstery. I'm surprised he didn't throw the dog out the window!'

Pagan coughs as we climb the staircase, wiping his eyes again. Relena is sitting on a stool outside the library, sobbing and cradling her Persian cat in her arms.

'Oh, Quatre. I'm so glad you're here! Has Pagan told you about that awful dog? It chased Mitra all over the palace, and she was terrified! And I really wanted to enter her in the pet show and now I can't!'

'I'm sure she'll have recovered by then,' I suggest kindly, eyeing Mitra who is trying to climb under her owner's blouse. 'The show isn't for a couple of weeks; there's plenty of time for her to calm down.'

'I can't show a cat who's missing half her fur!' Relena lifts the poor animal up so I can see there is a large patch of fluff gone from her other side. Her plume of a tail is also looking terribly bedraggled. 'Quatre, you have to get that dog out of here before it does anything else!'

'It's in the library, right? With Zechs? Everything seems to be quiet now.'

'Only in the last few minutes. The dog was barking and Milli was cursing - I didn't know he could swear like that! - and then everything stopped.' She sobs brokenly. 'Quat, please, go in and see if he's all right. He made me promise to stay out here. He said it was…safer. And he ordered Pagan to stay with me…'

I open the library door very carefully, very quietly, not wanting to disturb the vicious dog. Duo is a devotee of old horror films, and I can't help imaging a Hound of the Baskervilles -type dog, with glowing eyes and blood-stained fangs.

Instead of the scene of carnage I'd half expected, Zechs is sitting by the window, with a diminutive, exquisitely-groomed Pekingese dog at his feet, the perfect image of a faithful dog and its adored master.

'Zechs? Are you OK? That's not the killer dog, is it? Oh, God, have you killed it?'

'No, it's fine. And don't you dare laugh. It looks small and innocent now, but I swear, it seems larger when it's angry. All of its fur must stand on end or something. And its eyes actually glow.'

'But…..it looks perfectly behaved now. Did it really do all that damage you were talking about? It's so tiny!'

'It's behaving itself because I drugged the damn thing with sleeping tablets!'

'You didn't!' Nataku looks up at the sudden loud voice, tongue lolling and waves her magnificent tail. 'Zechs, you've probably half killed it!'

'It half killed me!' He says defensively. 'The animal is insane! Did Pagan tell you what it did in my car? They were only herbal tablets anyway. I can keep it drugged until tomorrow night.'

'And you don't think Wufei won't be a little suspicious as to why his dog is comatose?'

'He'll be grateful if he has any sense! No, I'll just tell him the thing is tired from having so much fun with me.'

'Oh, God. This is crazy. It was bad enough when you pretended to be a dog-trainer; you can't drug his dog as well. Zechs, you have to tell him the truth! He'll probably be flattered that you went to so much trouble for him.'

'I suppose.' He doesn't sound terribly convinced.

'I'm serious. If you don't, he'll go on thinking you're brilliant with dogs, and he might even ask you to dog-sit again.'

Aha, that strikes home; he gasps in horror at the very idea. 'You're perfectly right, Quatre. I'll tell him. Now, I'd better tell Relena I'm safe. Poor girl, she's so upset about her cat. Will you stay and have lunch with us?'

'I'd better not. I have a class at two, and I don't really like getting other people to cover for me.'

'All right. Thank you for coming anyway. And when you see Trowa tonight, tell him what a wonderful time I'm having with Wufei's dear little dog, won't you?'


	31. Chapter 31

-1Note - many thanks to KS for editing and to everyone who's been reviewing.

**Chapter 31:**

I put off calling my boyfriend until I'd left the clinic on Thursday evening, hoping he wouldn't mind too much if I called off our date. It was only one night, and we'd be going out on Saturday anyway. It wasn't any big deal.

'Hey, Quatre.'

'Trowa! I was just about to call you.' He sounded amazed at the coincidence. 'I'm afraid I'm running a little late; I'm actually just leaving the school now, so I mightn't be quite ready at seven. Is that all right?'

'That's why I called actually. Would you mind if we cancelled tonight? Or at least put it off 'til Saturday?'

'Oh! No, that's fine. I understand, if you have something more important to do.' His first gasp had been full of disappointment, but then he just sounded politely formal.

'It's not that. Honestly. I just had the world's crappiest day, and I don't think I'd be very entertaining.'

'Is something wrong? Can I help?' Oddly, it helped just hearing the warm concern in his voice.

'Not really. But thanks. I'm sorry, Quatre. I promise, I'll make it up to you at the weekend. I'm not fit company for anyone tonight. I just need to go home and crash in front of the TV and eat junk food.'

'Well, you could come over and do that at my house,' he offered. 'If you liked. We could just order dinner and play with Maggie and watch a film or something. You wouldn't have to talk if you didn't want to. I'll light the fire and you can crash on my couch,' he wheedled and that it was that last incentive that hooked me.

OK, option one; I could go home to my empty house and my anti-social cat, and try to find a comfortable place to sit on one of my armchairs that had come from Sally's parents' garage and didn't have an unbroken spring between them.

Or I could go with option two: collapse on one of Quatre's sinfully soft, squashy leather couches, with his adorable and playful puppy and my adorable (and hopefully) playful boyfriend beside me.

No real choice there.

'Are you sure? I'm warning you, I'm in a pretty crappy mood.'

'Well, everyone gets like that sometimes,' he said gently. 'It doesn't mean you have to lock yourself away. Why don't you stop and get a couple of DVDs on your way over? I'll order us dinner.'

'Um, I need to go home and feed Leo and get changed and…'

'That's no problem. It's just after six; I'll ask for the food to be delivered for seven. An hour's enough time for you; isn't it? Wonderful! I'll see you then!'

Exactly an hour later, I pulled up outside his house, still trying to work out how he'd managed to get me to reverse my decision. I'd had my evening all planned; frozen pizza, a couple of beers and whatever garbage was on TV. What had happened to all of that?

Quatre met me at the door, all smiles, arms full of wriggling puppy.

'I'm so glad you came! I wasn't too bossy earlier, was I? I just really wanted to see you and then I thought that maybe you'd prefer to be by yourself and…'

'I'd prefer to be here,' I told him simply, giving him a kiss that would hopefully prove it.

'Oh, good! Come on in.'

'These are for you.' I handed him the two DVDs I'd picked out - the latest James Bond for a bit of mindless excitement, and a British comedy that Sally had recommended - and a tub of the chocolate and macadamia ice-cream he liked.

'Thank you so much. Um, I forgot I don't actually have a TV so we'll have to watch them on my laptop. Is that OK?'

'It's fine.' There would be a nice bonus to that; we'd have to sit nice and close to see the small screen.

'Why don't you sit down and I'll get you something to drink? What would you like?'

'I'd kill for a beer, if you have some. But I can get it myself.'

'Don't be silly.' He flitted over, kissed me on the nose, and gently brushed the bangs away from my face. 'You're my guest. Let me look after you.'

So l let him, settling back luxuriously on that wonderful couch and rather enjoying the novelty of someone taking care of me.

Maggie happily snuggled on my lap, and Taco, resplendent in a fancy new diamond-studded collar, studiously ignored me.

'Hey, that's a fancy new collar he's got.' I remarked as Quatre came back in, arms filled with food, drink and plates.

'Isn't it? Dorothy's uncle got it for him as a little gift. I don't think he likes it much, though. He keeps scratching at it. Now, I hope you like what I've ordered for dinner.

What he'd ordered was total comfort food; soup, dumplings, chicken with noodles. Delicious.

'I don't want to pry or anything, Trowa,' he said quietly, 'but I'm here if you need to talk about whatever's upsetting you.'

I shrugged, reaching over to spoon a couple of dumplings into my soup. 'What's the point, really? Talking isn't going to help.'

I think it came out a little harsher than I'd meant, because he looked away from me, not quite quickly enough to hide the sudden pain in his eyes.

'Sorry. I'm sorry, OK? I told you I wasn't going to be any fun tonight.'

'I don't need you to be fun all the time,' he murmured, still not looking at me. 'That shouldn't be what this is all about. You've let me talk about my problems to you; why won't you tell me what's wrong?'

'Fine,' I muttered. What the hell; the two of us might as well be depressed as just one.

I'd had to put down two dogs that afternoon, in the space of an hour.

One was an elderly beagle; a much loved family pet and a total sweetheart. I'd got to know him and his owners over the past few weeks, and I'd been the one to tell his family that Sam wasn't responding to his new medication and that we'd run out of options. Still, he'd had a long and happy life.

The second dog was a little terrier cross bitch brought in by a volunteer from the animal shelter. She was only a few months old; malnourished and sporting a broken pelvis from some sort of traffic accident. There was simply nothing we could have done; she wasn't strong enough to survive surgery. I'd waited with her until the last, giving her that one tiny bit of companionship.

Quatre just listened. He didn't serve up the usual platitudes about how death was inevitable and animals had a short life span and a vet had to get used to this part of the job. He just held my hand in his, and let me feel he was there.

'Sometimes I just fucking hate my job. I've been qualified for over a year, and I still can't get used to that part of it. That isn't why I became a vet; to kill animals.'

'I don't blame you for being upset,' he said quietly. 'I could never do a job like that. But you did try; you told me last night that you'd tried every possible option for the Beagle. I don't think it's your job that's depressing you; you're trying to help animals. It's other people's cruelty.'

'You're probably right,' I admitted. It was…weird. I didn't feel happier or anything, just sort of lighter. Which sounds incredibly stupid. 'Did you ever think of getting into psychology or something instead of teaching?'

He laughed. 'I think a lot of teaching is psychology, really. Especially with teenagers.'

'Is it what you always wanted to do? Teach?' I asked, reaching out for another dumpling, partly curious, partly just wanting to change the subject. I wasn't sure I was in the mood to be analysed.

'Oh, not at all.' He carefully divided a piece of chicken between the two slavering hounds at our feet. 'I know I shouldn't but I thought they deserved a little treat. No, I wanted to be a concert violinist, I'd never even thought of teaching as a career until I was in second year at university. The music department had - well, it still has, actually - a programme for students to help out in some less advantaged schools. I volunteered and I found I loved it.'

He settled back against the couch, smiling a little when I draped an arm around his shoulders. Oh, Duo had been perfectly right about Quatre needing lots of physical affection.

'Are you feeling a little better now?' He reached one finger up to smooth the hair off my forehead. 'You sounded so sad on the 'phone earlier.'

Had I? I'd tried to sound OK for him.

'Yeah, I'm OK. It helped that I didn't have to go to Wufei's place to dog-sit. He called me this morning to say he'd found someone else to take care of the fluffy demon. How's Zechs coping? I hadn't realised that he had dog-handling experience.'

Quatre blushed faintly, chewing a mouthful of food very thoroughly before he answered. 'I think he has more experience with horses than dogs, really, but he loves animals. I actually called over early; Nataku was behaving angelically. She's adorable; I thought she was going to be a wolfhound or something the way you talk about her.'

'She's a demon in canine form,' I told him. 'I'm glad she was behaving herself though. Wufei was really worried about leaving her with a stranger.'

'It's a good sign, though, isn't it? I mean, he must like Zechs a little bit if he trusted him that much.'

I shrugged. 'Not really. He was just at his wit's ends to find someone to take her for the night. His neighbours have threatened to call the police if he can't find some way to keep her from making noise all day, and nobody who actually knows her wants anything to do with her. Zechs was pretty much his only option.'

'Oh!' Quatre swallowed a spoonful of soup and licked his spoon sexily. 'I'm not sure if you're right, actually. I spoke to Zechs last night and he seemed to think they'd got on rather well on the drive home.'

'Yeah?' I tried to make my next sentence a little diplomatic. 'I'm not sure if that's what Wufei thinks. He told me Zechs kept going on about trees and that he seemed to be unhealthily obsessed with them.'

'Oh no!' He began to laugh. 'That was your fault! You told him to talk about the environment. He thought Wufei was interested. That's awful. But they're having dinner at the weekend; Wufei must like him a little, don't you think?'

'Look, Quatre, I don't think you should get too involved with fixing those two up,' I warned, noting the matchmaking gleam in my boyfriend's beautiful blue eyes. Why the hell did we always end up talking about our friends lately? 'Wufei's not looking for someone at the moment, and I know Zechs is your friend and all, but I don't see them being right for each other.'

'Well, you don't know that,' he argued, and then distracted me by doing that thing with the spoon and his tongue again. God, he had a perfect mouth, and the cutest little habit of chewing on his lower lip when he was thinking about something. I wanted to nibble at that pretty pink curve of flesh and then kiss it better. He was still going on about Zechs and Wufei and how lovely it would be if they were together when I leaned over and kissed him.

Oh, he was lovely. Soft and yielding while I lost myself in that gorgeous mouth, and then a moment of playfulness at the end when he caught my tongue gently between his teeth.

Just perfect.

When I finally let him go, his lips were just a little bit red and swollen. Enough to make me want to grab him and repeat the performance. Except he moved a little bit away, helping himself to more noodles.

'I think they'd be good for each other,' he persisted. 'Zechs is a lovely person, you know.'

'Yeah, Duo gave me the pro-Zechs speech last night.'

'Oh, is that what the two of you were talking about in the café?' he wondered.

'Part of it, yeah.' I grinned at his expression; obviously dying to know what else had been discussed but not willing to ask outright. 'You'll find out the rest eventually.'

He pouted up at me. 'I can just ask Duo to tell me.'

'He won't. I know you guys tell each other stuff, but this was between him and me.' That was something of a shot in the dark, really; for all I knew, Duo could have already told Quatre to expect a delivery of flowers, but my boyfriend just nodded, apparently accepting that. 'Was it something to do with me?' OK, maybe not.

I had every faith in my sneaky blond's powers of persuasion to know he could probably wheedle the truth out of me in two seconds' flat, and I really wanted to surprise him. 'Wait and see,' I bent over to give him another kiss. 'So how come Duo broke up with Zechs, if he's such a great guy?'

Hah! That diversionary tactic worked like a charm. Useful to know….

'Well, there were a few reasons. Duo didn't think he was good enough for Zechs and that made him really insecure. Zechs wanted him to go to all kinds of official functions and parties and Duo hated that. I know he comes across as very confident but he's actually quite shy. They didn't have a major argument or anything; I think they just decided they'd be better off as just friends.'

I made a face. 'Wufei wouldn't like any of that social schmoozing either.'

'The situation's a little different now. Relena's old enough now to go to social events and she actually loves that sort of thing, so it takes the pressure off Zechs.'

'Listen, Quatre. I know you think they'd be good together,' I said, trying for the tact thing again. I personally couldn't imagine a less suited couple in the entire universe, even if there did seem to be some sort of chemistry between them. 'But Wufei's happy by himself and I think Zechs is probably happy with lots of other people.'

'That's because neither of them has met the right person!' He went all gooey-eyed. 'Wouldn't it be marvellous if they got together? Our two close friends! We could double date and everything. I know they don't seem compatible, but I'm sure they just need a little help. It would be wonderful to bring two lonely souls together.'

'I think they're both capable of managing their own love lives without you meddling.'

'But Trowa, it isn't meddling to help people.' He gazed at me, those blue eyes gloriously guileless. Shit. If he looked at me like that, there was nothing in the universe I could refuse him. 'We'll have to see how the dinner date goes, but maybe I could invite them over here some evening next week? So they can spend more time together. Don't you think that would be a good idea?'

'I think we should watch the movie before it gets too late,' I said hastily. I hadn't realised my boyfriend's romantic streak extended to everyone who happened to come into his orbit, but I guessed that I would be expected to take part in his matchmaking schemes he dreamed up.'

Hoping to distract him with the theme tune and opening sequence, I slid the DVD into his laptop. He looked like he wanted to protest, and then remembered that I was a guest in his home.

'Of course. Can I get you something else to drink before we start?'

'You wouldn't happen to have any aspirin around? I'm starting to get a killer headache.'

That won me my boyfriend's undivided attention. 'You poor thing! You should have said something earlier. I'm not surprised, after your awful day,' he sympathised. Before I could blink, he had my feet up on the couch, Instead of jumping up to fetch me pain relief, he scooted in behind me. 'It's probably just tension that's caused it. I might be able to relax you a little bit and that would be better than taking a tablet.'

'Wow. That's…amazing.' I dropped my head as his brilliant, talented fingers began to play over my skin. One hand massaged my temples, very gently, and the other kneaded the muscles at the back of my neck. 'How the hell did you learn to do that? You have the rest of our lives to keep doing it!'

He laughed softly. 'I took some massage lessons a couple of years ago. Duo, Zechs and I went on holiday to Thailand . Does it really feel good?'

'It's incredible. Utter bliss.'

It was, too. We had two dogs curled up in front of the log fire, and he'd lit candles, and the world was suddenly a much improved place. Having my dreamily gorgeous blond boyfriend pressed up against me and touching me with those magic fingers was definitely the cherry on top of the cream on top of the icing on the cake.

Actually, cream on top of my dreamy boyfriend would be rather nice….One day.

I never did get to see much of the movie. One minute, we were watching the outrageous stunts, and then I was drifting back to consciousness, with my head in my boyfriend's lap, and his fingers gently stroking my forehead.

'Shit. Did I fall asleep. I'm sorry, Quatre; you must have been bored to tears. Why didn't you wake me?'

'I wasn't bored,' he murmured. 'I watched the film and then just listened to music.'

'What happened?'

'James saved the world and got the girl. As per usual.'

'No major plot twists, then?' I was laughing when I noticed what time it was. 'Damn. It's not really half eleven, is it? I've been asleep that long? I'd better make tracks before I drop off again.'

'You could stay,' he offered, very softly. 'If you liked.'

'You're sure?' He gave me a quick little nod, but didn't meet my eyes, staring down at the wooden floorboards.

Right. He'd offered, he didn't seem terribly comfortable with it. A pretty big step; not that I imagined he was offering more than a place to sleep but still…. He'd told me regarded this house as his sanctuary and he was offering to share his bed, his room, his sleep with me. And he looked a little like he was regretting now. Sure, I could just refuse, or I could try to make it seem like less of a big deal…

'I'd better warn you in advance; if you're hoping to have your wicked way with me tonight, you're out of luck. I'll fall straight asleep once I'm horizontal.'

That worked. His face lit up happily. 'I wouldn't dream of taking advantage of someone in such a weakened state,' he teased back. 'If you're at all worried about your virtue, I could make up a bed in the guestroom.'

'I wouldn't dream of putting you to so much trouble.' I sighed exaggeratedly, making him laugh. 'I'll take my chances with you.'

'Well then.'

We tidied up together, let the dogs out for a last run, and locked up in a companionable silence.

In his bathroom, he started to burble on about finding me a toothbrush, and a towel, and explaining the shower settings, and showing me how to operate the water heater. Yeah, he had the most amazing bathroom; walk-in shower, big, old freestanding bath-tub, more than big enough for two to share…

'Quatre.'

'Is something wrong?'

'Just slow down a sec, OK? You're practically going into warp speed.'

'I'm sorry. I tend to talk fast when I'm nervous about something.' He dropped his gaze, fingers pleating the towel in his hand.

'You don't have to be nervous, honey. Not with me. If you're not comfortable with this, I'm fine sleeping on the couch. Or I can go home.'

'It's not that. I just…I didn't want you to go home to an empty house, and I do want you to stay, but I don't want you to think that I …'

'Hey. Come here.' I sat on the edge of the bathtub and pulled him into my arms. 'Stop that. I'm not expecting anything, Quatre. I was serious when I said I was wrecked. I'd really like for us to share a bed again, but not if you'd rather not. I hardly ever snore, and I only grind my teeth when I'm really stressed.'

He gave me the tiniest little flicker of a smile, all the tension leeching out of his body as he let me put both arms around him. 'I'd love you to share my bed. Truly.'

His room was an Aladdin's Cave of carved, gilded furniture and jewel-bright fabrics. It was also pleasantly untidy; a jumble of clothes spilling out of his wardrobe, and books and Cds in a precarious pyramid on the bedside table.

'I'm sorry it's so messy,' he apologised, darting ahead of me, and scooping up a tangle of odd socks off the floor.

'Don't be. It's great to find you're a bit of a slob. The rooms downstairs are so tidy that I was starting to worry about you having a neatness fixation.'

He laughed. 'No, I'm the opposite if anything. I try to keep downstairs tidy in case I have visitors, but no one really comes in here.' He chewed his bottom lip uncertainly.

_Just give it time, sweetheart._

Oddly enough, I was willing to do just that. I knew he liked me; he wasn't just playing coy or hard to get, or some stupid power games. He'd been badly burnt and he was a bit nervous about sticking his hand - or anything else - back into the fire.

I could wait for him. And I was getting some pretty nice side benefits along the way….

He collected a pair of dark blue pyjamas from the end of his bed, and vanished back into the bathroom 'to get changed'.

OK. Pyjamas were probably good. Granted, my powers of self-control were reaching pretty damn epic proportions by this stage, but it was probably for the best if he wasn't going to sleep with me naked.

I'd work on that when I had him in my house on Saturday night, and lured him onto the futon.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: THe GW characters do not belong to me in any shape or form...

Note: Thanks to KS for editing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 32**

Friday is a typical morning.

Maggie, crying with joy to see me when I go downstairs, rushes around the kitchen and then brings me her favourite chewy toy as a gift. She's been sleeping in the kitchen since Tuesday of this week; ever since she had several little accidents on Monday night and I put my bare foot into the squishiest of the little accidents on Tuesday morning.

Taco ignores me, except to give me a baleful glare from under the table. He's managed to get his paws on yet another raw potato, and is busily chewing it to shreds, and bares his tiny fangs when I try to take it away from him.

It's not so much that I mind the floor being strewn with shreds of raw potato, but he always vomits it back up. I hope he doesn't have some sort of hereditary eating disorder. Dorothy was anorexic as a teenager, when her parents were going through a hideously ugly divorce. No, that 's ridiculous. Of course a dog can't inherit something like that.

He does come from a rather dysfunctional background though. His owner stayed out all last night. Again. Without calling to say where she was, as we'd agreed.

I would have been up all night worrying about her, except that I was rather distracted by Trowa being here.

It's a typical morning, except that my boyfriend is asleep in my bed upstairs.

And I woke up in his arms twenty minutes ago. Actually, that's not quite descriptive enough. I was totally wrapped by his body, as if every part of him was touching every part of me.

It was wonderful.

Simon had never been into snuggling; I can't remember ever waking up to have anyone holding me like that before. Getting out of bed - when I could extricate myself - was horrible. But it's seven o'clock, and I have to be in school for half past eight, and I'm not sure when he's starting work.

I should probably call him.

He's awake when I go back upstairs, giving me a drowsy little smile. 'I was going to look for you. Where did you disappear to?'

'I just needed to let the dogs out for a little while. And I have to start getting ready for work.'

He grunts sleepily, glancing at his watch. 'Hmmm. Don't I get a good morning kiss? Or are you just going to kick me out in the street?'

'Of course not!' Smiling, I cross over to sit on the bed and brush my lips over his, soft as a whispered promise.

He moans. 'Don't tease me, Quatre.'

'But I like teasing you.' Our second kiss does incorporate a certain amount of teasing, but it's a lot more…. thorough.

So…what time is your first class?' Trowa asks when we finally pull apart. One hand is still stroking the back of my neck and the other is gently tracing the shell of my ear. I'm not if he quite realises that my brain turns to gooey pulp when anyone plays with my ears.

'Not until ten. But I have a staff meeting at half past eight.'

'Is it important?'

'Not....not really.' My breath hitches as his tongue finds my ear. How in the world has he discovered that I like that? 'It's just a staff meeting we have every Friday morning.'

'Will you get into trouble if you don't go?'

'Um, no.' I bite down on a gasp as his teeth fasten, very gently around my earlobe. 'It's pretty much voluntary; a lot of people never bother to attend.'

'So you won't miss anything vital?'

He nips my ear and this time I don't even bother to try to hide my gasp of pleasure. That feels so _good_.

'No-o. I can always read the minutes on Monday morning. Or ask someone else what happened.'

'So…just theoretically, you could stay here until maybe…nine thirty? If you wanted?'

'I - ah - theoretically, yes.' Oh, God. His teeth are nibbling on my earlobe and every touch is a tiny jolt of pleasure. 'I probably could.'

'That's good. And practically?'

'I - I could probably do that too.'

'Would you like to?'

What a ridiculous question….

He slides back the duvet and holds his hand out invitingly. 'Yes. Yes, I would. Very much.'

'_Good_.' He murmurs it approvingly, sliding one hand up and down my arm. 'Mmm. Do you always get dressed before you go to bed?'

'I … suppose I do, really. It's how I was brought up. My nanny was very religious; she believed people should be fully clothed at all times. I was always getting into trouble for kicking off my pyjamas when I was very small. I think she was scared that one of my sisters would come in and see something she thought was inappropriate.'

'I wouldn't mind you doing that.' One hand skims over my hip. 'Even if I did see something…inappropriate. These are pretty sexy pyjamas actually. Like wrapping paper on a present I get to open.'

'Trowa!' Oh dear. I'm not sure what prompts my gasp; whether it's the look in his eyes as he says this, the husky tone he says it in, or the image it conjures up; of him…unwrapping me.

Or a combination of them all.

He is fluttering the softest butterfly kisses across my face and throat.

Ooh.

'OK, honey?' He lifts his head to look into my eyes, fingers slipping the top buttons of my pyjama jacket.

'Um, yes.'

It's stupid to be self-conscious. He's seen me naked already. But this is my bed and it's broad daylight. I hadn't had time to be self-conscious in his apartment, and it had been almost dark by the hot springs. This time, it's just a little bit different.

'Hey.' His hand smoothes a strand of hair out of my eyes; such a tiny gesture but absolutely full of tenderness, and I realise how much I want this. I want _him_. 'You,' he says firmly, 'have absolutely nothing to feel self-conscious about. You're gorgeous. I just want to make you feel good, Quatre. If you're not comfortable with something, I want you to tell me.'

I nod, just a little bit hesitantly, and then my brain shuts down as he sucks my earlobe into his mouth, bathing it with his tongue.

'You like that, don't you?' He chuckles, and then his mouth is moving across my neck, sucking lightly at the skin, never enough to leave a mark. This is…bliss.

Then it occurs to me that I'm being utterly selfish; just lying back and letting my poor boyfriend do everything. He's going to think I'm the world's most self-centred lover.

He pops another button, sliding one hand inside to stroke my chest, while he drips kisses across my collarbone.

Ooooooh…he has the most amazing gift for finding those places that turn me to jelly.

_Stop it, Quatre. Time to stop this being so one-sided._

Sliding both arms around his neck, I reach up to press a kiss to the side of his jaw. He smiles and then removes my hands.

'What is it, Trowa?' I gaze up at him, wide-eyed, uncertain what I've done wrong now.

'It's OK, honey. Let me do this, will you? You looked after me last night; now it's my turn. I want to undress you, really slowly, and then I want to kiss you all over and you'd better tell me now if you have a problem with that.'

'I…I don't have a problem with it.'

I'm not sure if my self-control will be able to handle that sort of attention though. Trowa gives me a wicked little smile and then bends down to flick his tongue across one nipple.

'God, you're so sensitive there,' he murmurs as I arch back against the pillows. 'I love that. How d'you like this?'

I like _this_ - my nipples alternately being licked and sucked and lightly pinched - enough that I have visions of coming before he even gets my pants off. He has one leg between my thighs, and I desperately try to rub myself against it.

'Hey,' He pushes me back down to the mattress. 'You're impatient this morning. I wanted to take this slowly, remember?'

'I know. I _know_! But, Trowa, I don't think I can last much longer…please…'

I don't think I've ever begged like this for anything in my life. I don't think I've ever wanted anything so much.

And Trowa, my incredibly evil, sadistic boyfriend just smiles and goes back to playing with my nipples while I arch against him and beg.

When one hand, finally, slips down my chest, and under my waistband, I'm almost panting with relief.

I want this….

Warm, strong fingers measure the length of me, play gently between my legs; never quite enough.

'Trowa, please. _Please_.'

'Now, honey,' he whispers in that unbelievably sexy voice. 'I want to feel you come all over my hand.' He squeezes and I do just as I'm told.

'OK, sweetheart?'

Am I? All my bones have evaporated. I've behaved shamelessly. I haven't given any thought to his pleasure. I should be apologising for that; I should be returning the favour.

I've never felt so good in my life.

'Quatre?' He murmurs, looking a little uncertain. 'Was that OK?'

'Yes!' I say at once, rather more vehemently than I'd intended. 'I just…I'm sorry. I know it was over too far too soon and you wanted it to last and I never even so much as touched you…'

'Stop that. It was flattering knowing you wanted me that much. That's such a turn on. You never need to apologise for that. And we can make the next round last a bit longer.'

'I think….. you just liquidised me.'

He laughs. 'Oh, that's good. Then I get to drink you, right?'

Oh.

After a deep, deep kiss he begins to move very slowly, very deliberately down my body, shedding his boxers and my pyjamas on the way. Since my entire body has actually melted, I can't do anything, just lie there and let him do just as he wants. Which is quite entirely wonderful.

I can't believe I'm hard again so fast; all it takes is for him to slide his mouth over me and I'm ready.

This time, I do manage to last a little longer. This time, we come more or less in tangent, me in his mouth, him exploding into my hand.

This time, we manage to liquidise each other, and collapse in a sticky puddle.

It's wonderful.

Duo's always talking about how much he loves this part; the cuddling afterwards, but I've never done it before. After sex, Simon would immediately jump up and shower; then we'd fall asleep on opposite sides of the bed. I'd tried to justify it; that he just had a thing about personal cleanliness, but it had always hurt, just a little, that he could never wait to wash me off him.

What in the world did I ever see in him?

Trowa doesn't seem to have any problem with it, though.

He really is perfect, isn't he?

'Quatre.' Ack. Something is touching my hair, and there's an incredibly annoying voice murmuring in my ear. 'Quatre.'

'Go 'way,' I mutter, snuggling into the warm, firm body beside me. 'I'm asleep.'

'_Quatre_! It's almost nine. Either we get up now, or we both call in sick. Up to you.'

'It can't be that late!' I sit bolt upright and stare at my clock. 'It can't! It was only seven a couple of minutes ago.'

'You fell asleep,' his mouth quirks. 'Well, we both did. And I'm really sorry, sweetheart, but you need to make a decision.'

'I…suppose I could call in sick.' I am so terribly, terribly tempted. 'I'd love to, really. But three of my pupils had a scholarship exam yesterday after school; I need to check how they did.'

He just nods. 'No problem. Listen, how about I have a quick wash while you lie there for a minute? Then you can take a shower and I'll make some tea and check on the dogs.'

He is officially perfect, I decide as I walk into the kitchen fifteen minutes later.

There is tea and toast on the table; Maggie runs to meet me and Taco is quietly being sick under the table. A typical Friday morning.

Life is perfect, really.

'When do I get to see you again?' Trowa pours me a cup of tea, and fetches the kitchen roll to clean up Taco's mess.

'I finish at five today.'

'OK. We can….no, _shit_, I can't. Quatre, I'm sorry. Our senior receptionist is retiring next week, and we're having a dinner for her tonight. I have to go to that; I've known her since I was a kid. She was always like this adopted auntie to me and Cathy.'

'Will it finish late?' I ask, rather daringly. 'You could come here afterwards, if you liked.'

He grins, slathering marmalade on a piece of toast and handing it to me. 'You need to eat something, sweetheart. Got to keep your strength up. And I'm not sure how late I'll be, to be honest. Rose wants to do the whole works tonight; cocktails, dinner, pub crawl and nightclub afterwards. You probably don't want me crawling into your bed at four am.'

_I wouldn't mind._

'Actually, I'm helping Duo with a job tomorrow morning. We'll probably be starting pretty early.'

'I'm working 'til lunchtime, but I can meet you after that. Any idea what you'd like to do?'

_Go to bed again. Or futon, since I'll be staying over at your house…_

I don't say that.

'If it's a nice day, we could maybe take Maggie for a walk. And I could help you build those bookshelves you were talking about for your living room?'

'Does that mean I'll get to see you in your tool belt? And maybe sexy overalls?'

I spray toast crumbs all over the table. 'I don't think my overalls are sexy. Do you have some sort of DIY fetish?'

'Oh, yeah.' He leers at me. 'One of my fantasies is a hot blond guy with a power tool, and those loose trousers that fall down to show the crack of his ass. Any chance of that coming true tomorrow?'


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer – the usual. Not mine, no profits being made…

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 33:**

'It was like a miracle, Trowa,' Wufei told me dolefully. He took a sip of his twig-flavoured boiling water but it didn't seem to cheer him up. 'When I went to collect her yesterday evening, she was actually sitting on his lap! I'd be terrified to have her anywhere near my lap! The gods know what she'd decide to do to me!'

Nataku, straining at her leash in an attempt to escape and kill an apricot poodle walking toward us, turned her head and gave him a brief look of contempt.

I yawned into my own coffee. Ugh. Seven o'clock on Saturday and we'd already done two circuits of the dog park. And I'd been up 'til two with my work party. Very stupid, to agree to meet Wufei for a brisk walk the morning after a big night out. But he'd sounded pretty despairing on the 'phone and I had the rest of the day all planned out.

Surgery from ten 'til one; then Quatre was calling over at two and hopefully staying for the rest of the weekend.

'I wouldn't worry,' I said, trying to cheer him up. 'She was probably just nervous in a totally new environment, and felt she had to behave.'

He shook his head. 'I don't think so. Other people have offered to look after her - never more than once!- and she was her usually destructive self. But she was lying in his lap, and she even licked his finger at one point!'

'Well, he's an experienced dog trainer, isn't he? He's probably just used to problem dogs.'

Another head shake, and a brief interlude where the poodle's foolish mistress allowed her to get close to the 'cute little Peke' and had to be rescued. 'No. He said he's only used to Sanque working dogs, and he has no experience with oriental breeds.'

I hid a grin at that comment, remembering something Quatre had said about how his friend liked oriental humans.

'Maybe she just clicked with him. Anyway, it doesn't matter, does it? You've finally found someone she likes; maybe he'll be willing to dog-sit again?'

'He can't. Apparently, his _butler_,' he pronounced the word like it was an exotic species, 'is badly allergic to dog hair. And Nataku also chased his sister's cat. I feel terrible about that; she actually ripped out a chunk of the animal's fur.' He hauled Nataku to the side of the path to avoid two approaching Dobermans. 'Besides, I don't want to be dependent on someone else; she's my dog, for the present anyway, and I'd rather not be under an obligation. It's my problem, Trowa. I think I'd just accepted that she was unmanageable, and I'd just have to cope with that, but apparently she is capable of behaving well. That's why I want you to help me to train her. If you don't mind?'

'You know, I'll help.' I took a deep breath, looking at the two of them; the dog dragging at a too-tight leash, and the man clinging to it for dear life. 'The thing is, Zechs seems like a pretty laid-back guy.'

_Well, pretty for sure. And with those looks, he must get laid a lot._

_Ahem._

_And he's only laid back when he's not salivating over you, and jumping through hoops to get your attention._

_OK, Barton. Concentrate. Subject under discussion._

'Nataku probably liked the fact that he felt relaxed; if their humans feel confident and relaxed, dogs sense that and they feel that their environment is safe and secure.'

'What are you saying?' he demanded. 'That I have to learn to relax?'

'You need to learn to relax around her,' I specified, thinking that a little bit of general relaxation wouldn't hurt either. 'Dogs are incredibly good at picking up on emotions. If you come home stressed or irritated about something, she can sense that, but dogs can't verbalise this stuff; they only react to it. If she feels you're tense, she'll think that maybe there's a threat, and then she gets worried and stressed.'

'That's ridiculous, Trowa. She's only a dog.'

I shrugged. 'What's that got to do with it? Most animals are way more aware of moods and emotions than we are. Listen, remember when we first walked into the park? She was fine then; we were talking and she was happy sniffing around. Then those girls came by with that Australian Shepherd, and you tensed up. You pulled her leash really tightly and you told her to come to heel. All that tells her that the other dog was a threat that you were worried about. If you'd ignored it, she mightn't have paid any attention. But she thought you were scared, so she started barking.'

'So all of her bad behaviour is…my fault?' he asked sadly.

'I'm not saying that it's you specifically. The thing is, she was brought up by your grandmother and spoilt rotten, right? Then Granny Chang went off travelling and Nataku probably sees you as the person who took her away from her lovely home. Pekes form very strong attachments to their owners and they're really stubborn as well. She was used to getting lots of attention all day, and now she's left by herself in your apartment and she's bored so she makes noise and she wrecks things.'

'I do my best! I take her out every morning and evening; she has exactly the recommended amount of exercise for a dog of her size. And I feed her from a special diet sheet. I spend hours brushing her!'

'I'm not saying you're not taking perfect care of her. She's in excellent condition, but maybe she needs a little bit of attention. You two need to bond properly and then she'll want to win your approval, so she'll start to behave. Right now, she's acting up to get you to notice her.'

He pulled a face. 'You sound like some sort of canine psychologist.'

'You should be glad I'm not. They charge a fortune. No, she's just confused with all the changes in her life, aren't you sweetie?'

I held out my hand to her, and she growled.

'You see what she's like? People always want to pet her, especially children and all she does is growl at them.'

'Yeah, well, we'll work at that. Tell me one thing; when you're grooming her, does she behave herself?'

'Actually, yes.' He sounded surprised. 'It's the about the only time she does. I think she likes being brushed.'

'What she really likes is the contact with you; the fact that you're concentrating on her. How do you like grooming her?'

'I..quite like it. It's oddly soothing.'

'There you go! What we need to do is to work on bonding the two of you. And, Wufei, that's not going to happen if you leave her alone for twelve hours every day and then come home exhausted.'

'My career is important to me. You know that.'

'Sure. But I bet your boss doesn't actually expect you to _live _in the office. You're going to have to start cutting down on your hours.'

'I'm not going to sacrifice my career for a dog!'

'Oh, come on. It would do you good to leave work during daylight occasionally. And try doing something fun with Nataku; just play with her in the park instead of worrying about her getting the exact amount of exercise she needs. A pet is meant to be fun. Sure I know you got lumbered with her, but she's a cute little thing. She could probably be a really good stress-reliever.'

'I am not _stressed_!' he spat, loudly enough that Nataku turned her head to look at him. 'So that's your advice; I need to start having fun with her? I thought you'd teach her to obey simple commands or something.'

'Well, I could. But she won't be responsive to you telling her to sit unless she wants to win your approval.'

'Psychobabble,' he snorted.

'Common sense. Look, just give it a try, OK?'

'Oh, fine,' he huffed. 'I'll try to concentrate on having _fun _with her.'

I grinned at his expression. 'So, speaking of fun, you looking forward to your date with Mr. Tall, Blond and Handsome tonight?'

He gave me a hard stare. 'What do _you _think?'

'I think I could just about cope with a guy like him taking me out. I mean, assuming I didn't have Quatre. Obviously.'

'Obviously,' he echoed dryly. 'No, I'm not particularly looking forward to it. And it's most definitely not a date or anything of the sort. I'm merely repaying him for taking care of my dog. Nothing more.'

Ah.

'Right?'

'You don't like him at all, then?'

'That's immaterial.' He was walking faster and faster; poor Nataku's little legs were having to run to keep up with him. 'I have no intention whatsoever of getting involved with the Sanque aristocracy again. _None_! I've made that mistake already and I don't make the same mistake twice.'

'Maybe Zechs is different,' I suggested, not quite sure why I was even defending the man. I hardly knew him; what I had seen didn't really add up to him being Wufei's type. But I'd seen the way they looked at each other, back in the cinema. There was _something _there.

He snorted. 'Oh, please. I guarantee, he doesn't want anything more than another notch on his bedpost. After tonight, I'll never see him again, once I make it perfectly clear that that isn't going to happen.'

Right so.

Oh, well. I'd tried. Quatre was just going to have to live with the fact that his matchmaking attempts had fizzled out before they'd even had a chance to spark.

Well, I could keep him distracted with his own relationship….

'How is Quatre, anyway?,' he asked, a blindingly obvious attempt to change the subject.

I could happily talk about my cute blond. I could talk about him for hours. Still, Wufei probably wouldn't want to listen. 'He's fine.' Very damn fine, actually.

Oh, yeah.

I could still get hard just thinking of him on Thursday morning. I loved how that coolly demure image could vanish like smoke if I touched him a certain way. And the look on his face when I'd sucked him off, like no one had ever done that for him before….

OK, not the best time to be thinking about those things.

'He's coming over for dinner tonight.'

_And he's staying the night._

I didn't say that; I'd only get a big lecture on taking things too fast. It wasn't likeWufei and I had ever really talked about relationships. When he'd first hooked up with Treize - _bastard _- he'd bored me and Sally to tears talking about how noble, intelligent, idealistic, visionary and honourable the man was, but he'd scarcely mentioned any of the men he'd dated since then.

'Well, have a nice time,' Wufei told me, looking at his watch. 'I'd better go. I have to go into the office for a couple of hours.'

'Yeah, I've got a shift starting at ten. I'll see you next week. Good luck with Nataku. And have fun tonight!'

He pulled a face and they walked off.

My 'phone rang as I was walking out of the car park. 'Trowa? This is Zechs.'

'Hi. Listen, this really isn't the best time. I'm in my car and I…'

'I'll just be a moment. You do know that I'm taking Wufei out this evening? I need you to tell me about his preferences.'

'You need me to tell you _what_?'

'What sort of food does he like? Does he have any allergies? He's not a vegetarian, is he? Has he any religious dietary requirements?'

_Oh, __**those **__preferences._

'No, nothing like that. Don't worry. He likes pretty much everything, really. He's not a picky eater.'

'Does he have a favourite food?'

I had to think about that. 'No, like I said, he's not really fussy about food. He hates gherkins though, but he can just leave them on the side of his plate.'

'I'm not planning to take him somewhere that serves _gherkins_.' He sounded appalled at the very idea of it. 'Does he have a favourite restaurant?'

Hmmm.

That was tricky.

Wufei's favourite restaurant - and mine - was Lek's, but there were so many reasons why it wouldn't be great for a first date.

Wufei knows everyone who works there. The Leks are good friends of his family and he'd actually worked there occasionally when we were teenagers. Once Wufei walked through the door with a strange guy, the Leks would be straight on the 'phone to tell every member of his extended family. Mrs. Lek was almost like a second grandmother to him, and quite likely to remind him to use a napkin or to wash his hands after using the bathroom.

Really not good on the first date.

Plus Quatre had said that Zechs had been banned from there, for hitting on one of the waiters.

OK, definitely not Lek's.

'He loves seafood,' I said finally. 'The other night, Duo actually gave me the name of a new restaurant down by the harbour. I think I have the card somewhere if you want.'

'Thank you, but assuredly not,' he snorted. 'Duo's idea of fine dining is emphatically not mine! I know a lovely little French bistro downtown; does he like French food?'

'Um, I think so. Look, Zechs, just take him somewhere with good food, where there won't be a dozen waiters hanging over your table and waiting to pounce if either of you drops your napkin or needs your glass to be refilled. He hates that sort of thing and trust me, he's not going to be impressed by how much it costs or how long the wine list is.'

He made an non-committal sound on the other end of the line. Well, it was his funeral; I was only trying to help.

'Another thing; it's probably best if you keep the whole evening low key. You know, nothing too romantic.'

'But it's our first date!' he burst out.

Hmm. Not according to Wufei.

'Yeah. It's just ..he's not really into compliments or anything like that. You'll just piss him off if you try flattery, and it's probably better off not to open doors or hold his chair or that sort of thing. He'll get offended.'

'What _does _he like?' Zechs sounded a little forlorn; OK, that was good. At least he was trying.

'For a start, don't talk any more about trees! I don't know, it's the first time you guys have gone out together. Maybe you should just try to get to know each other a little bit; see if you actually have anything in common?'

'It would be easier if I had some idea of his interests,' he muttered. 'At least, then, I'd have a place to start. What sort of things does he do for fun?'

That wasn't a bad question. The thing was, I didn't really associate Wufei with fun. In the equation of our friendship, he'd always been the serious one, who'd had to be thrown out of the library when it was closing, and I'd been the outgoing one, who'd dragged him out to clubs and parties. It wasn't that he didn't like those things, just that he was shy with strangers, and he always felt guilty for going out to enjoy himself, when he should have been home studying.

He took his martial arts training way too seriously for it to be just fun; most of the books he read were massive tomes on history or law.

'He loves outdoorsy stuff,' I said finally. 'Mountain biking, horse-riding, hiking.' Another prick of guilt; we'd done all that stuff together as teenagers; then we'd gone to different universities. It wasn't that he didn't have other friends, as well as colleagues from work whom he liked, but he didn't have anyone that close.

Maybe he'd like going up to Lake Victoria some weekend and we could do something fun?

Not the sort of fun I'd had with Quatre, but still…..

'Ah, he likes horses?' the prince asked, and I had a weird feeling that he was making notes. 'So…somewhere low key but intimate, no overt flattery, casual conversation. Is that about it?'

'You'll be fine, Zechs. Honestly. Just work half the magic on Wufei that you pulled on his dog, whatever the hell you did.'

'Ah. Right.' He said uncomfortably. 'I will try. Just as a matter of interest, has he spoken about me at all? Has he implied whether or not he likes me?'

'He said it was kind of you to look after Nataku. Actually he said it was a miracle how you handled her! And he said you have a really cool car.'

That last comment was a bit of poetic license; he'd ranted on about how unfair it was that one person could own such an expensive private vehicle while there were children starving in the world, but he'd sounded just a tiny bit wistful all the same.

'I see.' There was a little pause, and then he started again, all traces of the nervous wannabe boyfriend vanished. 'One other thing. Quatre tells me he is staying at your home tonight. I know Duo has already emphasised just how protective we are of him, so I merely wish to reiterate that we are all _very _protective of your boyfriend. Extremely so. I take it you understand me?'

Damn. Not again. I was getting really, really sick of Quatre's friends pulling this crap on me. Even that girl from the florist, Duo's friend Hilde, had told me how much she 'hoped I wouldn't hurt Quatre', and she'd been brandishing a pair of pruning shears as she spoke.

Sure, it was great that he had protective friends, but they all seemed to think I was going to pounce on him and rape him or something, the second I got him alone.

'You know, it's great the way you guys all want to look after Quatre. I wonder where the hell you were when that asshole of an ex-boyfriend was messing him up. Didn't it occur to any of you that he might have needed a bit of support back then? Or didn't you care back then that he was miserable?'

'For your information, and not that it's any of your damn business,' Zechs told me, his voice so coldly furious that I'd obviously touched a raw nerve, 'we tried. Quatre is incredibly loyal; he believed that Simon needed him, and he refused to listen to anything we said to the contrary. He and Duo almost lost their friendship over it, and if you ever dare to upset Duo by implying that he didn't do everything in his power to help Quatre, then it'll be Heero you have to deal with, not me.'

Ouch. I'd really hit a nerve, hadn't I?

'Sorry.' I swallowed around the apology. Shit. 'I didn't know, OK? Quatre was obviously really hurt over the whole thing, and I just wondered why none of you bothered to intervene, since you're such good friends and all.'

'We didn't know a lot of it.' He sighed. 'Simon seemed fine at first; totally devoted to Quatre, who'd been going through a bad phase with his family.'

'He told me about what happened on his twenty first birthday.'

'Did he really? Well, he'd been so sure that his parents would want to be reconciled with him. He was older; he was doing so well at university, and they just threw him out a second time. He was incredibly vulnerable, and Simon was very attentive, very good to him. Then he just stopped visiting Quatre in Sanque, expecting Quat to fly out to him constantly. There were always excuses about work, but in reality, he just didn't want to have to share Quatre with anyone. We - Duo and the girls and I - tried everything to get Quat to see what was happening, and none of it worked.'

'Yeah. He's pretty stubborn.'

'Ah, you noticed that.' Another little pause. 'Duo seems to like you.'

'And you don't?'

'I hardly know you.'

'True. Zechs, I'm not planning to go and hurt Quatre. Not in any way. And I've no intention of keeping him from spending time with his friends, if that's what you're worried about.'

'I see.' God, this was in no way what I'd had planned for this morning. Give the Prince of Sanque tips on dating my best friend, and then reassure him that I wasn't planning to take _his _close friend away from him.

I'd planned to go shopping before work to get the ingredients for dinner. And breakfast.

'Yeah. And for the record, Zechs, I'm not going to warn you to take good care of my friend. I don't need to; he's more than capable of looking after himself. Just in case you don't know, he's highly skilled in every martial art that you've probably ever heard of. So you'd really better not hurt him either.'


	34. Chapter 34

Note: this one comes with sincerest apologies to the ghost of Treize Khushrenada. Every story needs a villain. Ahem.

Thanks to KS for editing, and to everyone who has been kind enough to comment.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 34:**

Duo whistles as I climb into the passenger seat of his car.

'Wow. Someone sure as hell got laid since I last saw him.'

'Duo!' I splutter, feeling myself going crimson at record speed. 'How in the universe do you know that? You and Heero aren't staking out my house, are you?'

He chuckles. 'Nope. Not yet anyway. It's not hard to guess, Quat. You look really happy, that's all. And you guys were totally having dessert sex in the restaurant the other night. That was pretty hot, actually.'

'That comment is…totally inappropriate.'

My best friend hits himself in the forehead before pulling out of my drive. 'Duh! Stupid Duo, right? Gay men aren't allowed to comment of other guys being cute, even when those guys are feeding each other cake and practically giving the spoon a blow job.'

'You're not allowed make those comments about me!'

'I'm just joking. So, you let him stay over on Thursday night, right? And you missed the staff meeting yesterday morning?'

I just goggle at him. 'How…how do you know that?'

Duo grins in a way that's probably meant to be mysterious. 'Oh, I have my ways. Here, this is for you. Howard said to take some money out of petty cash to get breakfast. I got you some of that stinky tea you like, and a fancy bagel.' He gropes under his seat and hands me a paper bag from my favourite café. ''Lena called the school yesterday at nine thirty, looking for you. They said you weren't in, and you had your house 'phone switched off, so she called me to ask if you were OK, and I put two and two together.' His eyebrows climb halfway up his forehead. 'So…something you need to tell me?'

'I imagine you already know it.' For the first time, it occurs to me that maybe there might be some benefits to not sharing _everything_. Not that I really mind telling him; in fact, I want to talk about it, but it would be nice to have a _little _privacy, sometimes. 'What did 'Lena want?'

'Oh, she's going to some charity ball next week, and she needs an escort. Apparently it's your turn; I said you'd call her. Now stop trying to change the subject! Talk to me, Winner. Or I'll turn Heero on you.'

'It was wonderful.' I take a sip of my tea and break off the corner of my bagel.

'That's all I'm going to get? No way! I tell you every damn thing!' His eyes narrow speculatively. 'Yeah, I forgot to say, Heero found the whole cake feeding a real turn on as well. We nearly didn't make it home before he…'

'No! Stop!' I clap both hands over my ears and just grab my tea in time before it spills. 'I'll tell you, just please don't say any more.'

Duo smirks happily. 'I can't believe you asked him to stay over. Well, I sort of can, given the way you were looking at him the other night, but it's still a pretty big step. And you actually missed a staff meeting. You _never _do that. Not even when you broke your ankle skiing and Zechs and I practically had to carry you up the stairs.'

I nod. 'I know. I hadn't intended to ask him to stay. But he fell asleep on the couch - he'd had a horrible day at work - and I just couldn't tell him to go home. I wanted him to stay, anyway,' I add quietly. 'My bedroom was in the most appalling mess, though; you have no idea. It was so embarrassing.'

'What, there was a sock on the floor or something, was there?' he snorts. 'Quat, I kind of imagine that the guy was too busy looking at you to notice the décor. So…you got him into your pigsty of a bedroom and…who jumped who?'

'There was no jumping. We both fell asleep and oh, Duo, he was so sweet. I was babbling all sorts of nonsense; well, you know what I'm like when I'm nervous, and he just made out that it wasn't any big deal, and offered to go home if I really felt uncomfortable.'

'Hmm. And that's what put that shit-eating smile on your face?' He sounds a little sceptical.

'Well, no. Not exactly. That would have been what we did yesterday morning. It was wonderful. It just felt so _right_!' I sigh, remembering, and Duo reaches over to tousle my hair, the way he does when I say something he considers cute.

'The whole nine yards? Or should I be measuring in inches rather than yards?'

'That is one of the worst jokes you've ever made!' I take a sip of my Lapsong Souchong, in a pathetic attempt to stop myself smiling for one second. 'And, no, we didn't actually go all the way.' I can feel my whole face stretching into an enormous smile. 'Duo, it was unbelievable! He said…he just wanted to make me feel good.'

'I'm betting he did!' Duo interrupts and I nod.

'Oh, yes! I've never had anyone make me feel like that. I thought every bone in my body had turned into jelly. Jelly that hadn't even had time to set properly! And now I just can't stop thinking about it. Not just the physical, but things he said and the way he looks at me sometimes. And I can't wait to see him later.' I nibble another bit of bagel. 'Does that make me some sort of sex addict?'

'A vet addict, more like,' he quips and then sees my face. 'Quat, stop stressing about this. It's normal. You like the guy, he likes you, he makes you feel great. Of course you're going to think about it. And, if you don't mind me being crude, it's a while since you got any. From what you said, Simon was as selfish in bed as he was out of it, and now you've got someone who actually considers your pleasure as well. You should be over the moon.'

'I am. Honestly. I can't stop smiling. I woke up this morning and I was smiling! And he sent me the most beautiful flowers yesterday! I'll show you when you drop me back home. I don't know how he knew my favourite flowers!'

'Sure you do,' Duo winks at me and raises his cup of coffee to his lips. 'Work it out, Kitty Quat.'

'Oh! That's what you were talking about in the café!'

'Yep! So, let's see, you've got this hot, attentive guy who's pulling out all the stops to show you a good time, in and out of bed. You can't stop smiling and you're seeing him in a few hours.' He frowns. 'Why the hell do I get the feeling that you've got something that's worrying you?'

I shake my head; my best friend is far too perceptive. Duo takes his eyes off the road for one second, and pulls the car to the side of the road. 'Talk to me, Quat. I can listen better if I'm not driving as well.'

'I don't know. I'm just feeling so incredibly stupid.' His eyes widen and I rush on. 'I can't believe I stayed with Simon for so long! And then I spent a whole year getting over him. It's like I've wasted whole years of my life!'

'Hallelujiah,' Duo mutters. 'He finally gets it. Listen, stop beating yourself up about this, OK? The whole Simon thing was a big, fat mistake. We've gone over this a thousand times. The important thing is that you finally saw what an asshole he was, and you got out. Sure, it took you a while to get your confidence back, but people deal with things differently. And look at it like this; if you'd got over him sooner, you might be with someone else now, and you'd never have met the HVG.'

'That's true,' I say slowly. 'I'd never thought of that.'

He shrugs. 'It's a way of looking at things. Maybe you wouldn't be the person you are now, the person Trowa's attracted to, if you hadn't met Simon in the first place. I know how badly you got hurt, but it's made you stronger, Quat. You're way more confident than you were when I first met you; you're still a total people pleaser, but you _are _capable of putting yourself first.'

'What are you saying; that I've become really selfish?'

'No, you idiot. What I'm saying is that you've become a bit more assertive. Simon the asshole loved that you felt insecure around him, that you were always trying to make him happy. I think Trowa's secure enough to accept the guy you are now. Hell, he probably likes it. He's head over heels about you, anyway.'

'It's so different with Trowa. Not just the sex; _everything_. It's so much more comfortable being with him; he's easy-going, and he's so considerate and I can't stop thinking about him. It was never like this with Simon.' I hit myself in the forehead. 'I was so stupid, Duo. I never even loved him, not properly. I just needed someone and then I was so terrified of losing another person in my life, I jumped through hoops for him. Stupid. I almost lost you and Zechs because you tried to tell me I was making a mistake.'

'You didn't, though,' he tells me gently. 'We all got past that. And about Simon,' he chews his lip, usually my habit. 'There were some good times, right? You wouldn't have stayed with him for so long if you hadn't felt something for him. Even Zechs and I thought he was OK the first few times we met him.'

'Are you actually defending him?'

'Nah. I'm just saying that I know it wasn't all bad. Maybe it was what you needed then. And you should stop kicking yourself over it. It's over; it wouldn't hurt to hang to a few of the good memories.'

I nod slowly. 'You really should be a psychologist or something, you know. You're so _good _at all this.'

'Yeah, right. Like I could pass any of those exams. And Howard wouldn't be too keen if I left him to become a shrink. He hates all that stuff. I don't know all that much, Quat, not really. I just went through losing someone and had to find ways to survive, that's all. One of them was finding you.'

I swallow. 'Do you still…miss Solo?'

It's one of the few subjects we tend to avoid; Duo's first lover and his death. As far as my friend is concerned, he was responsible.

'I'll always miss him,' Duo says softly. 'Always. But I think he'd be glad I found Heero. It's so different with 'Ro, you know. With Solo, I was always the kid; he was four years older. He was always the one who showed me stuff, who looked after me. I loved him to bits - still do - but it was never really an equal relationship. He made all the decisions, and I pretty much went along with it. Maybe it would've changed when I got older, I don't know. But with Heero, it's like this totally equal partnership. I sort of like that.'

He glances at the clock on the dashboard. 'Yeah. We'd better go. It's nearly nine. Listen, I'm sorry to drag you out of bed so early on a Saturday. I really appreciate this.'

'It's not a problem.' I finish off my bagel and fold the paper bag neatly. 'What are we doing this morning?'

'Other than trying to avoid my boss? Actually, he might not be here, especially if we can get finished ASAP. There's one bedroom he wants painted; he called Howard yesterday and asked if it could be done by around eleven this morning. We got everything set up last night, so it shouldn't take that long. We might get out before he even arrives.'

The house turns out to be quite near my parents' home; one of the city's most exclusive suburbs. The mansions are perched high on a cliff, overlooking the sea, and the residents compete over the highness of their walls, and the complexity of their security system.

The house we are going to is protected by some of the highest walls, although the actual gate is wrought iron, with an intricate pattern of roses twined around each other.

There are more roses lining the drive, miraculously blooming in April. There are fountains and gazebos and every leaf, ever blade of grass looks as if it has been individually trimmed. There is a small Greek temple.

Duo slows down as we approach the house and nods towards it. 'Crazy, huh? Apparently, he had it shipped over from Athens; it's really ancient and he had to bribe all sorts of officials to get it out of the country.' He makes a face. 'What you can do with money!'

'So…what do you think?' he asks almost an hour later, having given me a conducted tour.

'It's beautiful, I suppose. He obviously has impeccable taste, and you and Howard have done an amazing job. It just feels more like an art gallery than a place where people live.'

'That's it, exactly. I mean, Zechs' place is more homey than this and it's a freaking palace! But I wouldn't want to live here, would you? All that marble and crystal and French antiques, but nowhere just to curl up and watch TV.'

'No, I wouldn't like to live here,' I agree. 'And it's far too big for one person.'

Duo nods. 'Yeah. He has all these fancy ideas about the entertaining he's going to do. Garden parties, formal dinners, musical soirées. Come on, we'd better get going. Back up the sweeping staircase!'

'Actually, I do envy him the music room. The acoustics are superb; he could have a concert of chamber music in there.'

'He's always going on about how much he loves opera and all that, and all the concerts he's been to. Like we're supposed to be impressed. You probably know way more about that shit than he does, and you don't brag about it.'

'I wish you wouldn't call opera _that shit.' _Duo laughs at my pained expression, flinging a door open.

'Here we go; it's a pretty small room. We just have to do the walls and give the window sills another coat. Should be finished soon.'

'Are you sure this is the right paint?' I open one of the cans, inhaling the wonderful smell. It's a bright, sunshiny yellow; totally unlike the rest of the house, which is decorated in very masculine, earth tones.

'Uh huh. We checked yesterday. It's probably the maid's room or something. Anyway, let's get cracking.'

A couple of hours later, we are at the clearing up stage. Duo has managed to winkle out practically every detail of my evening/morning with Trowa, and confided a few details of what he and Heero got up to on Wednesday evening when they got home.

Not that I'd really wanted to know.

He is piling up the empty paint cans and I'm wiping down the floorboards when we hear footsteps.

'Ah, shit,' Duo mutters. 'We should've started at six; we'd be home by now.'

'Duo?' a deep male voice calls my friend's name, and the door swings open.

He is - not what I'd expected. He is in his early thirties, handsome apart from the rather scary eyebrows and the little smirk on his lips. If I saw him on the street, I'd probably think he was attractive.

'Hi,' Duo wipes his hands on his jeans. 'Sorry; we're nearly finished. We didn't expect you quite so early.'

'No problem at all. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?'

'Oh. Right. This is Quat; he helps out sometimes when we're busy. Quat, this is, uh…'

'Treize Khushrenada.' He holds my hand just long enough that I'm feeling the urge to snatch it back. Which would just look ridiculous. 'Cat? What an unusual name. And charming.' I get a smile which is probably meant to be charming too, and possibly would be if it weren't so condescending. 'Do tell me, Cat, what do you think of my house?'

'It's beautiful. I especially liked the music room.'

'Ah. Are you fond of music then? I think it's one of life's greatest pleasures, personally. I have a private box at the Sanque Opera House; I'm going to see _Aida _this evening, actually. Perhaps you've seen it?'

'Several weeks ago,' I say coolly. 'When it first opened. It's an excellent production, but of course one really has to see it performed in Cairo, beside the Pyramids, don't you think? To fully appreciate it?'

Oh dear, that was probably a mistake. His lips thin as he stares at me, that horrid little smirk withering. Patronising the hired help is NOT supposed to go like this.

Well, I don't like people looking at me like that. I've seen that expression too many times when I was growing up. Powerful men, often friends of my parents, who believed that their wealth allowed them to do as they pleased with their secretaries or housemaids or children's nannies.

Duo tries to break the awkward pause by saying something about how much he likes the colour of this room, and then a girl's voice calls from outside.

Instantly, Treize's expression transforms into an indulgent smile.

'Leia, my love. Come in.' He pulls the girl into the room, draping one arm around her shoulders. She is very young, pretty, visibly pregnant. 'Your surprise, my darling. The nursery for our son.'

'It's beautiful! Treize, thank you so much!' She smiles at us both, shy but sweet. 'And thank you both for doing this. It was so kind of you to come in at the weekend.'

'It is their job, dear,' he says tightly and then forces a nasty little smile for her benefit. 'Now, gentlemen, I think we've taken up more than enough of your Saturday. As you can see, my wife is more than happy with your work. Perhaps I can offer you both some small recompense for your trouble?'

'No, that's fine,' Duo says quickly 'We'll put it on the invoice; it's no trouble. We have to go now, right, Quat? We'll leave you two to yourselves.' We both gabble farewells and almost rush out of the room.

'Shit.' Duo bangs the steering wheel with one hand as we race down the drive. 'That poor girl! And the poor kid. Hope he doesn't inherit those eyebrows. Even worse than Dorothy's! I thought he was going to give us some money there, probably try sliding it into our back pockets like we were strippers or something. Freak. I hate those fucking guys who just think they have to take out a credit card and people are going to bend over for them.' He grimaces. 'Ick. Seriously bad choice of words.'

'You never told me that he was married.'

Duo shrugs. 'Didn't know. He's never mentioned a wife. Well, you didn't like him, did you?'

'Absolutely not. I've met people like him before and he's a total sleaze.'

'Yep. Still, we finish up next week, and we'll never need to see him again. I feel kind of sorry for the girl though. She only looked about nineteen or twenty and she's stuck with him. Look, Quat, don't tell anyone about this, OK? I mean, sure, the guy's a bit of a perv, and I'll be really glad to finish the job, but I think I just got a bit freaked out last week. It's not a big deal, really. Now, am I dropping you home or at Trowa's?'

'Home, if you don't mind. I need to get changed first.'

'No problem. So…what's the plan for today?'

'Nothing definite. We're taking Maggie for a walk, and maybe giving her a little obedience lesson, and then we might make a start on Trowa's bookshelves. He said he wants to cook something nice for dinner.'

'And then? Futon time?'

'I imagine so.' I try to sound nonchalant about that but I'm blushing. And smiling.

'Going to sleep with him properly this time?'

'I don't know. Honestly. All the reasons I had for not sleeping with him don't seem so important any more. I know we still don't know each other awfully well, but … I don't know. I think I'll just keep my options open and see what happens.'

'Options open, legs open,' Duo grins. 'Sorry, that was a bit crude. Just make sure it's what you want, OK? Not that you're trying to make the HVG happy. 'cause he seems willing to wait for you.'

'I won't do anything I'm not comfortable with, I promise. But I think …I do want this.' at least, I think I do, don't I? I certainly did yesterday morning. I would have let him do anything. Everything.

'What about you?' I ask. I'm not sure if I really want to keep talking about my sex life, or lack thereof. Not right now.

It's a harmless question, but he suddenly looks a little bashful. 'Just hang 'round with Heero, I think. We sort of had this little discussion on Thursday, on the way home from the movies. Nothing major; just that we're both going to try spending less time at work, and do more stuff together. He's such a workaholic anyway, and I've been pressuring myself trying to get this job done, so we haven't seen too much of each other lately.' He shrugs. 'So we're just going to have some 'quality time' today, and tomorrow we're going to go out for the day. It'll be nice, I think.'

'It sounds very nice,' I say gently.

'Oh, yeah. There was one favour I wanted to ask. We might try to get away for a few days next month; would you mind watching Shin for me?'

'I'd love. You don't even have to ask. Where were you thinking of going?'

'That's one of things we're going to do this afternoon; plan our little trip. It's coming up to six months since we got together, so we should do something nice, right?' He grins suddenly. 'Lucky you dialled his number by mistake that night, wasn't it? The way things turned out.'

I nod; things did turn out well in the end. I didn't lose Duo, the way I'd feared; in fact, I gained Heero as another friend.

And now I have Trowa.


	35. Chapter 35

**Note: Many thanks to KS for helping and to everyone who has been kind enough to comment. I now have over 250 reviews for this one...*gloats***

Trowa's POV

**Chapter 35:**

I opened my front door to Quatre and Maggie at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon, and immediately had my arms full of adorably affectionate blond, with his puppy ecstatically licking my ankles.

Well now! This was a good start to proceedings. Definitely.

'Thank you so much for the flowers. They're perfect!'

'You already rang to thank me,' I reminded him. 'And you're welcome. You should really be thanking Duo's friend Hilde, anyway. She made up the arrangement for you.'

'I'd much rather thank you, though,' he murmured, leaning over to kiss me again.

Wow. I was going to have to find some way to thank Duo for the tip on having the flowers delivered. Some way that wouldn't get his boyfriend angry with me. And I'd have to remember to send my own boyfriend flowers on a regular basis. Yeah, very definitely.

'Now, what do you want to do this afternoon?' I asked, bending down to pick up Maggie who'd been scrabbling at my legs, wanting her share of my attention. It was a gorgeous Spring day; the sort where it would be nice just to stay at home and laze around the garden for a bit and….see what happened, if Quatre didn't have any fixed plans.

No, he had plans.

A torrent of them.

'Well. If you still want me to help you make bookshelves, I know a terrific DIY store where we can buy the wood, but they close early on Saturdays, so we'd have to go now. And I should take Maggie for a run at some point, if that's all right. And I haven't actually eaten lunch yet; I wasn't sure what we were going to do so I thought I'd better wait.'

OK, it wasn't going to be a lazy Saturday then.

Still, at least his agenda didn't include roping me into more of his matchmaking schemes. I could live with everything else. Well, maybe I could talk him out of this bookshelf project he was so fixated on.

'But if you'd rather do something else, of course that's fine too,' he finally wound up, giving one of those appealing little smiles.

Damn.

It looked like I was going to get lumbered - no pun intended - with those shelves, whether I wanted them or not. And, frankly, I wasn't sure I did. My books were fine, stacked against the walls. Easily accessible.

But he was all excited about the project, and I couldn't remember exactly whether I'd agreed to it. He'd been talking about it for a while, now, and at some point I'd probably implied that I was interested.

Oh, well.

If it made him happy….

'Sure. Let's do that to start and then we'll have lunch and take Maggie for a run.'

OK, I could spend ten minutes or however long it took in this DIY place, if it was what he really wanted. How long would it take to buy a couple of planks of wood? Then, I could introduce a couple of plans of my own.

I'd never really seen the attraction some couples had for spending their weekends wandering around DIY stores, looking at different colours of tile grouting, or whatever is was that they did.

Seriously, did they not have better things to do with their time?

Visiting Dave's DIY Warehouse with Quatre was - not too bad. Not something I'd want to do on a regular basis, but OK as a once-off. They stocked practically everything you could possibly want for a house and garden; by the time we finally made it to the wood, we had accumulated a pile of other stuff. A plastic shower curtain that would stop me flooding the bathroom whenever I took a shower, a teapot that (hopefully) wouldn't have a leaky spout, some earthenware window boxes that Quatre thought would be perfect for my new collection of herbs, and some strawberry plants.

I already had visions of picking sun warmed strawberries first thing in the morning, and then feeding them to Quatre. Who in this nice little fantasy just happened to be naked and sprawled all over my futon.

It made wandering up and down the aisles a lot more bearable.

Quatre, who obviously knew the place inside out, was greeting all the people who worked there like old friends - apparently the place had been his second home when he was renovating his house - and all but salivating over a fancy new power saw.

Maggie was having fun too, sniffing everything and being admired by everyone.

And I got to enjoy watching her master. His clothes were a little bit more fitted than usual. A pale blue sweater made of some soft material that I kept wanting to touch, and dark jeans that were snug in all the right places, and nicely emphasised the curve of that place where hip flowed into ass. Very nice.

That was one of his sensitive areas, right there. He'd all but purred when I'd stroked my fingers across that particular patch of skin. Damn, I really wanted to do that again. Probably not the best time, whatever Duo had said about pushing boundaries. Maybe when I got him outside and we were loading the wood into the car, there'd be a few opportunities for an accidental touch or two?

'Trowa?' He was looking at me expectantly, like he'd been trying to get my attention. I'd totally zoned out. After we'd spent fifteen minutes looking at planks of wood that all looked exactly the same, I chose the one he seemed to like best and that didn't cost the earth. 'Do you have your measurements with you?'

What was that supposed to mean? Measurements? He was asking for my vital statistics in a DIY store on a Saturday afternoon, with one of the sales assistants standing beside us. That didn't make any sense. Anyway, he'd had plenty of chances to make those sort of measurements for himself, and he'd seemed happy enough.

'The walls in your living room,' Quatre elaborated. 'Do you remember? I asked you to measure them for me.'

'Oh! Right.' _Those _measurements. I rummaged in my pocket for that piece of paper, and gave them to Quatre, who in turn handed them to the shop assistant. 'Would you mind cutting these for us, Brian, please? We'll come around to the lumber yard and collect them. We just need to get some wall brackets.'

My boyfriend smiled at me as we headed for the wall bracket section. Whatever that was. 'We might have to wait a little while, if they're busy in the lumber yard. I could do it at your house, but there would be sawdust everywhere, and I'd make rather a lot of noise.'

_Hum. I could live with him making a lot of noise. I was expecting him to, later. Although in a slightly different context._

'That's fine.' Selecting wall brackets didn't take too long, once I'd assured Quatre that I genuinely didn't care what size or colour they were, and twenty minutes later we were loading the car with my new possessions, all bought at wholesale discount which was even nicer.

'So how come you get a discount? Because you bought all the stuff for your house here?' I asked, getting into the car.

'Not really. Duo and Howard buy most of their building supplies here, so they get wholesale prices, and I work with them sometimes so Dave usually lets me have things at cost.'

'Oh, yeah. You were working this morning. How did that go?'

'Fine. It was just a couple of hours painting. We even got to finish early.'

'And was the house as fancy as you thought it would be?' He'd talked a little about it on the 'phone the previous night; how he was looking forward to seeing the mansion Duo was helping to renovate.

He shrugged. 'It was a little overdone for my taste.' For such a chatterbox, he seemed disinclined to discuss it, settling Maggie comfortably on his lap and adjusting his seatbelt. Well, maybe he just didn't want to talk about work on a Saturday. 'Where are we going now? The park?'

'I was thinking about that.' I signalled to pull out of the car park. 'It's a nice day; why don't we take her to the beach instead? I need to pick up a few things at the organic market first so we can get some sandwiches or something for lunch first.'

'Oh, that would be perfect,' he told me happily. 'I just thought the park would be nice because it's close, and I wasn't sure if you wanted to spend the day driving around.'

I took one hand briefly off the wheel to ruffle his hair. 'Wow, there I was thinking you were being bossy, and you were just trying to be considerate.'

'I didn't mean to boss you around,' he said quietly, laying one hand on my knee. OK, if he was willing to do that whenever we were in the car, I could probably live with him being a bit on the pushy side. 'I'm sorry.'

'I'll forgive you, provided you keep your hand just where it is.'

_Or even move it around a little bit._

Predictably, that comment produced a little blush but the hand stayed in place, and even squeezed gently. Apparently cars were private rather than public and certain things were allowed, even in daylight. Good to know.

'What sort of things do you have to buy?' he wondered twenty minutes later, as we found a parking place and meandered off around the food stalls. 'Gosh, this place is amazing. I thought there would just be one or two stalls selling fruit and vegetables.'

'It started out that way, about five years ago. Now it sells pretty much everything, though. Have you really never been here before?'

He shook his head, eyes widening as he took it all in. 'I've been meaning to, but I've never got around to it. I could stay here all day.'

'Yeah, some people do make a day of it. There's all sort of handcrafts up the other side; some of the artists do workshops as well, and they sometimes have concerts. We can come back some other time and look around properly.' I slipped a hand briefly under his elbow and guided him to the fresh produce stall. I had my own plans for later, and they definitely didn't include us spending hours gawking at buskers and stalls full of every type of olive in existence 'Now, let's see what I need. Some nice bread; vegetables; something for dessert tonight.'

He gave me one of those adorable pouts. Right, I was going to have to get him somewhere private pretty soon, so I could kiss him. 'You didn't make me tiramisu?'

'Sorry, Quatre. I didn't have time this morning; Wufei called and wanted to meet me for an hour before work.'

'Oh, of course! He's going out with Zechs for dinner later. Is he excited about it?'

_More grimly determined to get it over with…. _

'We didn't talk about it all that much.' That was true enough.

Quatre frowned. 'Honestly, I don't know what you two _do _talk about! He's your best friend; aren't you at all interested in what he does?'

'Of course I am! And we did discuss it a bit, but it was confidential. You and Duo might be OK with telling the whole world what's going on in your lives, but Wufei's a very reserved person. He wouldn't like me to share a private conversation with someone he hardly knows.'

Shit. Was that what Quatre wanted? I supposed I could get used to telling him all this intimate stuff about myself, but no damn way was I was I going to tell him things about my best friend.

'I'm sorry,' he said in a small voice. Maggie gazed up at me reproachfully, I'd upset her master. 'I didn't mean…for you to tell me anything private. I'd never expect that. I just thought…maybe he'd mentioned something about Zechs casually, and you could tell me that. I - I'm sorry if you thought I wanted you to break a confidence.'

I shook my head. 'I'm the one who should apologise, Quatre. Look, what you said about me not being interested in what he does cut a bit close to the bone, that's all. I was feeling pretty guilty this morning about the fact that I haven't been around much lately. I know he was looking forward to me coming back here to live, and I still haven't seen that much of him.'

'Is that…my fault?' he asked uncertainly, looking more miserable than ever.

Oh, God. How had we suddenly got to this point? Now, he was the one blaming himself for something I'd done.

'Of course not!' I pulled him off the path, finding a quiet little spot to the side of a tent selling handmade soaps and candles. 'It's a lot of things. I've been really busy settling in at work; ever since I started, there's been at least one person out sick or on holiday, so we've been short-staffed. I'm still learning the ropes and trying to get to know everyone.. And there was finding a place to live and getting that all sorted…and then there's this hot blond guy I met, and who I want to spend every minute with.'

'Really?' he breathed, giving me the most blinding smile.

'Well, yeah. Isn't it obvious? And Quatre, it's not your fault. It's something I have to deal with. I just need to make more time for him. I didn't mean to snap at you.'

'It's fine.' Whew. Crisis averted. Well done, Barton. Nice to know that we could work out these little blips without them becoming major disasters.

'I think you're a good friend,' he said softly, as we moved over to the cheese stall. 'You were willing to meet him early on a Saturday morning because he wanted to talk. I know you've tried to help him with his dog. And you're very protective of him.'

'Me? Protective? No way. And it's not like he needs anyone to look after him; he'd consider it a total insult.'

'It's not an insult to have friends who care about you,' he bent down to sniff a wheel of Sanque Old Blue, and I made the happy discovery that my boyfriend apparently shared my taste for the more pungent varieties. Excellent. 'And you seemed rather protective that night in the cinema. I don't know if you even realised, but you were glaring at Zechs.'

I let that last comment slide. 'Speaking of Zechs, he called me this morning, just after I'd left Wufei. He wanted to get me to give him a bit of help for tonight; where Wufei would like to go, stuff like that.'

'Oh, that's so sweet.' Quatre accepted a sample of Brie from the stallholder with a smile and a little murmur of appreciation.

_I could make him do that. And I wouldn't need cheese as a prop._

'He is really making an effort, Trowa. That was a clever idea, to call you.'

'What?' I dug out my wallet and pointed to the cheeses I wanted; the stinky blue and the nice, creamy Brie. 'I'd assumed it was your idea. Didn't you give him my number?'

'I wouldn't have done something like that without asking you.' That was a bit of a relief, actually. OK, it wasn't a major deal, but my 'phone was friends only and I wasn't sure if Zechs fitted into that category yet. Quatre nibbled his lower lip, those perfect pearly teeth worrying gently at that perfect piece of pink flesh.

_I wanted to do that…_

'No,' he elaborated, as I led him over to my favourite bakery stall. With luck, they'd still have one of those sourdough loaves; the one with chocolate chips and cherries. He'd admitted he loved Cherry Danish pastries for breakfast, but that was just because he'd never had this bread, warmed and slathered with butter. 'I did maybe think of asking you for a few tips; he called me last night and he was really nervous about their date, but you didn't really seem keen on getting involved so…I thought maybe I'd better not,' he shrugged.

'The thing is, I'm just not sure that they're compatible,' I explained. It was good that he'd apparently given up the matchmaking, but now I felt a bit mean. He really just wanted them to be happy; was that such a bad thing? Maybe a bit of attention from a gorgeous guy was with my friend needed. 'Look, if they get on OK at this dinner, we could think about getting together with them some evening next week. Just something casual, to let them spend a bit more time with each other.'

Quatre nodded, beaming. 'That would be marvellous! Of course, we may not need to. They might arrange another date by themselves.'

'Maybe.' I didn't have particularly high expectations of that. Still, it was just possible that Wufei would be dazzled enough for that to happen. 'Right, enough about them.' I broke off a piece of sourdough. 'Taste this. If you like it, it's what we're having for breakfast tomorrow. Except then I hope we'll both still be in bed, and I'll be able to feed you.'

The minute I said that, I thought maybe I'd pushed things a bit, but he just laughed. OK, it looked like it was definitely all systems go for this evening then.

'What? Don't I get a Cherry Danish after all?'

'I promise, once you've had this, you'll never want a Danish again. I used to fantasise about this bread when I was away at University; Wufei used to bring me out a supply whenever he came to visit. I know it sounds really sad, but this was bread was the one of the reasons I'd let Cathy pressure me to come back and work in Sanque.'

'Really?' he laughed up at me. 'I hope you've found another few reasons to stay since then.'

'One or two,' I teased back, watching him chew the still-warm bread. 'Well? Do you like it?'

'Oh, it's delicious.' Of course he liked it; how could he dislike fresh bread studded with chunks of dark chocolate, and sticky, sour cherries.

'Right, we just need to pick up something for lunch and then we can head off.'

It actually took thirty minutes before we were on the road out of the city, my boyfriend having been distracted several times as we wandered back around the market.

'I thought we were going to the beach.' He sounded a little confused as I drove past the turn-off.

'We are; there's a really nice little cove a couple of miles up the coast. Not many people go there and I know you were talking about giving Maggie an obedience lesson; it'll be a lot easier in a quiet place where there aren't other dogs around to distract her.'

OK, that was the official reason. This early in the year, there was a pretty good chance that we'd have the place all to ourselves; no reason to waste a deserted beach entirely on puppy-training.


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I, rather obviously, do not own the Gundam Characters.

Note: Many thanks to KS and Snow for likig it and to everyone who has been reviewing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 36:**

'This is so beautiful,' I skip the last couple of steps down to the beach with Maggie dancing around me delightedly. 'I never even knew that this place existed!'

'Not a lot of people do, really,' Trowa tells me. 'I think the local council tries to keep it quiet; the steps down are pretty rickety and there've been a few accidents. It's great, though. I used to come here all the time when I was a teenager. It was the best place for parties; we used to have barbeques and bonfires and dare each other to dive off the rocks.'

'I've never really done anything like that,' I admit, rather sadly, watching Maggie dart ahead to investigate the rock pools. 'Even when I was home for the holidays, my parents liked me to study all the time. I did sneak out to a couple of Zechs' parties, but his friends were all a couple of years older than me and I was really shy, so I never had a lot of fun at them.'

'Poor Quatre,' he says it softly, and then closes one hand around mine. 'I'm going to make sure you have loads of fun from now on, I promise. Now, come on, I'm starving.'

Before I can respond, he is already moving down the beach, and I am following a little more slowly. Oh dear. I wasn't angling for sympathy; just stating a fact. I'm not sure what I can say that won't make me sound even more pathetic.

Anyway, I rather like the idea of having loads of fun with my boyfriend.

We find the most perfect place for our picnic; a flat rock to sit on with enough small pools close by to keep Maggie fascinated. 'I'm really enjoying this, Trowa. I can't remember the last time I just did something like this on a Saturday afternoon. Thank you so much.'

'What do you normally do on a Saturday then?'

'Lots of different things, really,' I say, thinking about it. 'I sometimes have classes on a Saturday morning, especially coming up to exams, or I give private coaching. And I usually spend the afternoon running around doing laundry or shopping or something like that.'

'Doesn't sound much fun,' he comments, taking a giant bite of his sandwich.

'No, it doesn't,' I agree.

Actually, if I let myself think about it, in the last year, I've been desperately trying to fill in my time with various activities, so I don't have too much time to think.

It sounds pathetic, really. I could, I suppose, blame Simon for my self-imposed seclusion over the past year, for how I'd clung to a fixed routine unless Duo or Zechs or someone forced me out it. But, really, it's my own fault. No one _made _me shut myself away.

It's been so long since I just did something like this; bought lunch and ate it outside and enjoyed the scenery. 'I do generally go out on Saturday nights, and we all usually meet up on Sundays. I think I need to learn to relax a little bit more, instead of making plans all the time.'

'You do seem to like the planning stuff. Anyway, don't get too relaxed. I'm going to put you to work the minute I get you home; I expect a perfect set of shelves finished by dinner time. And I want you to wear those overalls of yours while you're doing it.'

'Yes, Master,' I sketch him a pantomime bow and he laughs. 'Seriously, I don't understand how overalls are your ultimate fantasy. They're the least sexy item of clothing on the planet!'

'I didn't say they were my ultimate fantasy,' his eyes gleam at me. 'Just one of them.'

'Do I even want to know what the ultimate fantasy is?'

He shakes his head back, so for a moment I get to see both of his eyes at the same time, both sparkling at me. 'That really depends on whether or not you're prepared to fulfil it, honey. How d'you feel about sex on the beach?'

'You want me to make you a cocktail?' I tease.

'Uh huh. Actual sex on an actual beach. Well?'

I shudder theatrically. 'Take me to a nice, sunny tropical island and I might consider it. In Sanque, in April, positively not! I'd freeze to death.'

'Good point.' He grins. 'Apart from anything else, there'd probably be major shrinkage and that could cause problems of its own.'

I can't believe he just said that; I can't believe a guy would make a joke about that!

'How in the world did you get to be so laid back?'

He just shrugs. 'No point getting all het up over every little thing, really. Might as well save your energy for the big things; the things you can maybe do something about.'

I sigh, carefully selecting a little piece of plain turkey for Maggie. 'I suppose. I tend to over-dramatise things a little bit sometimes.'

'No way!' he deadpans and laughs when I lean over to punch his arm. 'I don't know; maybe it's my job. I try not to stress too much over stuff that isn't a matter of life or death.'

'That's a good philosophy. Duo says something like that.'

'Well, if Duo says it, of course it must be true.'

'Are you making fun of my best friend, by any chance?' I demand, holding up my fist again, and he leans back, laughing.

'No way! Duo's my personal dating oracle, remember?'

'Oh, really? So what else did he tell you about me?'

'Stuff,' Trowa grins, taking a massive bite of his sandwich, chewing it infuriatingly slowly. 'Hasn't he told you yet? I thought you guys tell each other everything.'

'Not everything, no.' Duo, in fact, has refused point blank to divulge what he and Trowa talked about that evening; he just laughs and tells me I'll find out eventually.

'I'm actually glad to hear that,' Trowa admits, and I immediately feel a little surge of guilt. He probably wouldn't be too pleased to know the things I told Duo this morning. But he's always told me everything about his romance with Heero; too much probably. I've sometimes had the oddest impression that I'm going out with Heero as well.

Blushing faintly at that thought, I rummage for a quick subject change. 'It's so beautiful here. I love the sound of the waves.'

'Do you remember the first time we were on a beach together?'

'Of course!' I sigh happily. 'The first day we met. Gosh, I was so nervous driving to meet you at that café. I'd never been picked up like that before. I nearly didn't come.'

'I was terrified you weren't going to show,' he admits. 'I thought I'd been way too forward and you'd decided you weren't interested.'

'Well, you were a little forward.' Speaking of forward, Maggie whines gently. _More food, please. Please_. 'I hope you don't make a habit of kissing all your patients like that.'

'What, the animal ones or their owners?' he jokes, and then gives me a very serious stare. 'I've never done that before, Quatre. Really. I just thought you were cute, and you seemed to like me, and there was this way you just looked at me, and I was totally hooked.'

'Hooked is…good?' I ask tentatively. Oh dear, perhaps Duo and Zechs are right and I do constantly crave reassurance.

'Hooked is good,' Trowa informs me. 'Seriously good.'

'Good,' I echo foolishly and we both laugh. 'I'm hooked too, just for the record.'

'Glad to hear it.' Suddenly he's not joking at all, and I realise that maybe he has doubts too, about my feelings for him. How could he not, really? I'm the one who broke up with him, a week ago; the one who's dancing around the whole intimacy issue. I'm the one who's been getting the constant reassurance.

'I'm hooked,' I repeat, holding his gaze. They're such a unique shade of green, his eyes.

He's smiling. 'So, I've got you hooked, huh? Does that mean it's time to reel you in?'

His kiss leaves me breathless. _Reeling_, actually.

I'm sprawled all over him, kissing him back, when Maggie starts to bark at something I suddenly remember we're outside, in broad daylight, on a public beach. Anyone could walk past.

'She's just barking at the seagulls, Quatre,' he soothes, leaning back and pulling me against him. 'There's no one else here but us. Now, where were we?'

'You're such a fraud,' I pretend to grumble at him. 'I thought you wanted to come here so we could give Maggie some training.'

'Never said it was the only reason, did I?' He grins widely. 'It's OK, babe. You said you wanted to relax a bit more, remember?'

'I'm not sure if this is entirely relaxing me, to be honest.' I blush faintly, sitting up and pulling my sweater down. It's a while since I've worn these jeans; I've forgotten how constricting they can feel in certain situations.

'It's much more like Nova here, with the cliffs and everything.' I say; a rather obvious attempt to change the subject to something a little less personal. Trowa obligingly plays along, although the glint in his assures me he knows exactly what I'm trying to do.

'Yeah, it's beautiful there, isn't it? Pity it's a bit far to drive in one day, or we could take a trip there. Maybe one weekend we could go up and find a place to stay for a night, if you'd like that?'

'I, ah, was going to ask you about that, actually. I don't know if I told you this, but Zechs and 'Lena have a house up there, well, it's just a cottage, that I've borrowed a couple of times. It might be nice if we could go up there together sometime when we're both free?'

'Sure. That'd be really great. Let's see. I'm working all day next Saturday; I don't think there's any way I could get out of that. But I'm off on Sunday and Monday; how are you fixed for taking time off during the week?'

'I could probably arrange for someone to cover my classes for a day, if I gave them enough notice,' I tell him, a little bit dazedly. I'd meant this possible trip to take place at some nebulous point in the future, not next weekend. 'I will have to check that the cottage is going to be free.'

I suppose this gives me a cop-out clause, if I need one. No, that's ridiculous. I'm not going to start lying to Trowa. I suggested this whole thing. It's not like we haven't been away together. We've shared a bed on two occasions now. We're almost certainly going to have sex tonight.

Going away is not a big deal.

'Ever done it outside?' My boyfriend wonders, harking back to our earlier conversation. Honestly. Trowa is practically perfect, but I do sometimes wonder if he ever thinks about anything but sex.

Although I haven't been much better today. Even looking at the vast bed in Treize Khushrenada's master bedroom, and his whirlpool Jacuzzi, I'd been thinking about Trowa. He has totally corrupted me.

'Just once. That night with you at the hot springs.'

He pulls me against him. 'We have really _got _to start broadening your horizons, honey.' One arms locks tightly around my waist, holding me against his chest, which actually feels rather wonderful, and his other hand works its way under my sweater and starts a meandering journey upwards.

Oh.

Granted my horizons are probably on the limited side, but I'm fairly happy with them.

'Trowa, I - I'm not sure if I…this is a public place.'

'Not public if there's no one else around to see us,' he points out, reasonably enough. Relax, OK?' he croons gently. 'We've already established that sex on the beach is out, 'til the weather warms up a little bit, anyway. But we've got this whole place to ourselves; might as well take advantage of the privacy, don't you think?'

The tip of his tongue flicks delicately around my ear. 'So, tell me...what's your big fantasy?'

'I don't think I really have one,' I hedge.

'Sure you do,' his teeth nip my lobe, just enough to sting slightly, and then he sucks it gently into his mouth. 'Everyone's got some sort of fantasies. And I've already told you mine.'

Oh dear. I could lie; make up some nonsense about hot chocolate sauce or feather dusters or ice cubes or something.

Instead, I tell him the truth. 'I just want to be in love with the person I'm with.'

He simply doesn't react at first; then, he doesn't speak, just tugs me into his arms and settles me against his chest. I honestly don't think I've ever felt so…cherished in my entire life. Trowa, my boyfriend, is wrapped around me so closely I can feel our bodies moulded together into one, and he is whispering soft kisses across my face.

'My little romantic.'

'Not all that little,' I murmur into his shoulder, when I can finally manage coherent speech.

'A few inches, maybe,' he muses, and yelps when I poke him in the ribs. 'What was that for? I can't help being taller than you.'

'Oh, of course you were talking about our comparative heights.'

He tries, not terribly successfully, for a look of wounded innocence. 'You've got a filthy mind, Winner! What else would I have been talking about?'

'Asshole.'

He bursts out laughing. 'I didn't even know you knew that word. You're normally so polite.'

I pull a face. 'You'd be polite if you'd had your mouth washed out with carbolic soap for swearing when you were seven years old.'

'You're joking!'

'Actually, I'm not. I had a Scottish nanny until I was ten, and she was incredibly strict. I can't even remember now what I'd said; probably something Zechs taught me. He was always a bad example. I know it was years and years ago, but I think I can still remember the taste.'

Trowa chuckles. 'So there won't be any dirty talk in bed tonight then?'

'Um,' I swallow, fixing my gaze on some fluffy clouds drifting in over the sea. I'm not stupid. My boyfriend has asked me to stay the night in his small, one-bedroom apartment. I've accepted. I'm almost sure that I'm ready to sleep with him. It is still something of a shock for him to say it out straight out like that. 'Probably not.'

'Oh, well. I guess I'll have to live with that.' He slides one long finger under my chin, tilting it up so I'm forced to meet his gaze. 'Quatre? This is all OK? Or am I rushing you again? I just got the impression, yesterday morning, that you were maybe ready for a little bit more.'

It is so very, temptingly easy just to say that everything is fine. Instead, I bend forward to kiss him, a slight graze of my mouth against his, demure as a drawing room. 'I think I'm OK with all of this. I'm just, it's been a long time for me, and, and ….'

'What, sweetheart? Tell me what's wrong.'

'I don't know if I'm really any good at it.' I don't think he hears me the first time; probably not, given that my face is buried in the curve of his shoulder. So I repeat it, wondering if he can feel my blush through his jacket.

'Any good at what?' He sounds utterly bemused, but one hand is gently stroking my hair.

'Sex,' I whisper wretchedly, wondering if I've ever felt this embarrassed in my whole life. It doesn't help matters when he starts to laugh.

'It's not funny!' I snap, jerking out of his arms and glaring at him.

'Quatre, it's fucking hilarious!' I just manage to jump to my feet before he catches me. 'Come back here. You are incredible in bed! I swear to God, I can't stop thinking about you. When I was with Wufei this morning, I kept remembering being with you; it was damn hard to concentrate on the stuff he was telling me because all I could think about was getting to see you again.'

'I…I've been thinking about you all morning too,' I confess shyly.

'Good.' He sounds just a little bit smug about that. 'You are gorgeous and sexy and so damned hot that I just want to jump on you whenever we're together. Now, how in hell did you get that stupid idea that you're no good at sex. Shit.' His eyes darken suddenly. 'Is all this about that fucker of an ex-boyfriend?'

'Ah, a little bit.'

'Right. Now, you listen to me,' he orders sternly. 'Whatever that bastard said, I don't want you to give it another thought. Got that? He didn't deserve someone like you, not for one second, and you are far, far too smart to spend your time worrying about a single word he said to you. You're an absolute dream in the sack, and I'm going to prove it to you, when you're ready for that.'


	37. Chapter 37

Note: Many thanks to the wonderful Kaeru Shisho, for the equally wonderful comments and suggestions.

**Chapter 37:**

In the end, we didn't get back to my place until after eight. We'd walked along the beach for a bit, and watched the sunset, and I'd tried my best to show Quatre just how very sexy I found him. Maggie never did receive her training lesson, but she'd enjoyed herself, even if she hadn't liked her first taste of salt water.

'Everything OK?' I asked as I pulled up outside my gate. He'd been mostly quiet on the drive home, singing along softly to the radio, and stroking Maggie, who was curled up on his lap, with one hand, and the other resting gently on my knee.

He nodded, but there was just this faint little frown on his forehead. 'I'm just a little worried about Maggie meeting your cat. What if they hate each other? Maybe we should leave it 'til some other time.'

'They'll be fine.' I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. 'Honestly. They have to meet each other at some point, right? They're both young enough to make friends. And Maggie's so small, he shouldn't see her as a threat.' I leaned over to give him a quick kiss. 'Trust the vet on this one, honey.'

'I do trust you,' he said simply. Just one little sentence, but it gave me a nicely warm feeling. Quite unlike the other feelings my body had been producing all day.

We decided to leave the stuff I'd bought in the car 'til morning, collected Quatre's stuff from his car, and headed indoors.

Leo, sitting on the couch, took one look at the new animal and fled.

'Oh dear.' Quatre scooped up his little dog, who was obviously all too ready for a nice game of chasing. 'What should we do? Maybe if you brought him back, we could introduce them to each other?'

'I think the best thing is just to leave them alone. Leo isn't very sociable, but he's curious. He'll probably come back in a while to investigate. And meanwhile, we can start dinner. I don't know about you but I'm starving.'

'Me too,' he assured me, and then placed Maggie carefully on the floor and proceeded to give me a very exhaustive kiss.

'Keep doing that and there won't be any dinner,' I warned huskily. Actually, that didn't seem like such a bad option, all of a sudden. If he really wanted to skip the preliminaries, well, it would just be rude to refuse, wouldn't it?

Given that he already had some insecurity issues?

'Oh, really?' His mouth twitched into a very kissable hybrid between a pout and a smile. 'So I'm not allowed to kiss the cook then?'

'Kissing the cook is always allowed,' I told him, grabbing him and demonstrating just how _allowed _it was. He even gave me a nice, needy little moan when I let him go. Oh, very nice. I could really, really get used him being around.

It would be great to have those delicious kisses on tap, whenever I wanted, plus that bright smile, and his enthusiasm, and the way he seemed to be interested in pretty much whatever I said.

'So what's for dinner?' Quatre was looking up at me expectantly, and I realised I'd totally zoned out and into a little domestic daydream.

'Thai green curry with prawns.' I found the bowl of sauce in the fridge and dipped one finger into it. 'Taste that. I just made it last night.'

'Spicy,' he commented, licking and sucking at my finger. OK. Concentrate, Barton. Dinner first. Then - whatever he was up for. Oh, God. No pun intended there. 'Did you really make this yourself, Trowa? It's delicious.'

'I really made it. I'll show you some time if you'd like. It's pretty easy; you just pound up a lot of herbs; lemongrass, chili, ginger, basil and add it to coconut milk and a few other things.'

Actually, cookery lessons could be kind of fun. I had a nice little vision of showing him how to use a pestle and mortar, my hand over his and my back pressed against him

Of course, in my imagination, we were both naked. . And the pestle and mortar, they were really just a metaphor.

Shit. I was really going to have to stop having all these little visions of naked-Quatre.

Still, maybe I'd be getting the live show later.

'So….how do you survive if you can't cook at all?' I poured him a glass of wine, and pulled out a stool. Just having him there, in my kitchen, was rather nice. Even with clothes on.

Urgh. Having him anywhere, in any possible sense, would be way more than nice.

'I'm very accomplished at using a microwave. And I eat out quite a lot. Duo loves cooking, so I just never bothered when we lived together.'

'Oh, I see,' I said mournfully. 'You're only with me because I can cook.'

'That's pretty much it,' He gave a solemn little nod. 'Of course I do need some help with training Maggie as well.'

'Fair enough. I'm only with you because I need this place renovated. And because your dog's cute. And, oh yeah, I love your couch.'

'That's strange, because I'm only with you for your futon,' Quatre laughed, effectively ending the game. Hard to tease someone when you're kissing the hell out of them, and they're being very responsive.

Dinner turned out to be perfect, God knows how. My mind hadn't exactly been on timings and quantities. Not with my dreamy Quatre watching me, and needing frequent reminders of just how gorgeous he was.

The poor guy had some sort of self-confidence issues; it was up to his concerned boyfriend to remedy all of that. And I was just the man to suit those needs, being in the health and healing business.

'Talking of futons, my friend Sally emailed me about a sale some furniture store is having at the moment. It's called Futon Confusion or something.'

'Futon Fusion,' he corrected. 'I love that shop! And they have really good discounts in their sales.'

'That's what Sal said. So would you be interested in taking a trip there with me? The futon Wufei lent me is OK but it's a bit too short for me. I either end up with my legs hanging over the edge, or else I wake up with a cramp.'

'I'd love to go with you. I'll rather miss the futon though.'

Well, there was a leading line. Whether he'd intended it or not. 'You don't know it well enough to miss it, hon. Not yet.'

'Maybe we need to get a little better acquainted then,' he murmured. 'You could always introduce us properly.'

'Quatre, meet Futon. Futon, meet Quatre,' I suggested, rising to my feet and pulling him up from his own seat.

'I believe I was promised dessert earlier,' he gave me the cutest little teasing look from under those long lashes.

'And I believe I promised you I was going to help broaden your horizons a little bit. How about we take dessert into the bedroom, and see if we can find some fun ways to share it?'

'Oh! I'll just go and - um…I'll just be a moment.' Clutching his backpack, he vanished into the bathroom.

'Well,' I remarked to Maggie, who was watching me, head on one side. 'That turned out a lot easier than I expected.' By the time I'd got her settled in her basket, and collected a bowl of chocolate mousse, Quatre was already sitting on the edge of the futon, looking like it wouldn't take much to send him bolting back to the bathroom.

I'd just have to work hard to convince him to stay. I could do that.

I _wanted_ to do that.

I wanted to keep him. In my bedroom, practically naked. Hair slightly tousled, cute blue briefs. Very cute body, from what I could see of it. Still, totally naked would be better….

No reason whatsoever for the shy look on his face. He glanced up quickly when I walked through the door, and then went back to studying the carpet, while I put our dessert to one side and stripped. All the way, just to give him a bit of an incentive.

'Hey, gorgeous. I see you and the futon are making friends.' He let me pull him into my arms, relaxing just a little as I rubbed his back. 'Told you I was going to make sure you had loads of fun, didn't I?'

Oh, God, he _was_ gorgeous. I pushed him gently down on to the futon, and just looked at him. His nipples were such a delicately pretty colour against all that pale skin, and just crying out for attention. And I was going to make their owner cry out himself soon, see how many ways I could get him to gasp my name.

'Trowa, stop!'

OK, that wasn't one of the ways I'd been planning.

'What's wrong? I thought you liked that?'

'I do! It's just…your cat is watching us.'

'Damn! I thought I'd put him in the sitting room!' Leo, in fact, was crouched on top of the wardrobe, giving us the benefit of two unblinking green eyes. 'Just give me a sec. Don't move!'

In my defence, my mind wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders; not with the warm, nearly-naked object of all my fantasies sprawled deliciously a few feet away. Making a sudden grab for a skittish cat is never a good idea. Five seconds later, Leo had retreated to the back of the wardrobe, nicely out of arm's reach, and my arm was sporting a thin red line where his claws had met skin.

It took almost fifteen minutes to coax him out, as well as his favourite toy, and some salmon-flavoured treats.

Quatre was laughing though when I came back to the bedroom, cat securely locked in the sitting room, all traces of his earlier unease vanished.

'Sorry about that.'

'It was rather sexy, actually. I hadn't realised there was going to be a floor show.'

'The show's just starting, honey. Now, can you remember where we left off?'

'I think I was just about here, actually.' He pressed a kiss to my mouth, and then started a lingering journey downwards. His briefs had managed to shed themselves at some point while I was cat-hunting, along with that streak of shyness. Instead, he was being nicely creative; I'd caught little hints of a mischievous streak before and that was definitely out in full force tonight.

Then the doorbell rang and Quatre just froze, his mouth poised over the most sensitive part of my anatomy.

'They'll go away.' I pressed one hand to the back of his neck, trying to keep him in place. 'Quatre, _please_. Don't stop.'

And the doorbell buzzed again.

'Trowa! Trowa, it's Mrs. Elton.'

'Shit! It's my landlady! I'd better see what she wants.'

I wrenched the door open, having dragged on the first things that came to hand; my own jeans and Quatre's blue sweater. I really hoped the damn woman wasn't psychic. Or homophobic.

'Oh, Trowa. I'm _so _sorry to disturb you. But one of the taps in our bathroom seems to be stuck; I can't turn it off and I'm afraid it's going to start flooding our floor, and then dripping down into your bedroom. I've tried calling a plumber, but no one wants to come out this late on a Saturday. Is there a chance you might come and have a look at it? My husband can't do that sort of thing since he had his hip operation.'

'Well, I'll come up, but I don't really know a lot about plumbing.

Scratch that; I didn't know anything. But the poor woman was almost in tears, and I happened to have a handy boyfriend stashed in my bedroom.

_Shit. _

Maybe if he could fix this fast, I'd get to see just how handy he could be before I exploded from sheer frustration. Maybe.

Quatre took the change of plans in his stride, accepting that he'd be spending the next hour attending to his boyfriend's landlady's plumbing needs, rather than said boyfriend's desires. And plumbing needs.

'Of course I'll try to help. It's probably just a washer needing to be tightened or something, but if I can't fix it, I'll turn the water off at the mains, and she can get a plumber in the morning.'

I'd offered to go with him, but he asked me to stay with Maggie instead, and left wearing my green shirt – very cute on him – and blowing me kisses as he walked out the door.

It took him almost half an hour; I was just about to go and find him when he turned up again, bearing a tin of homemade cookies he'd been given in thanks.

'Aren't you useful?' I asked grinning, relieving him of cookies and clothing and hauling him back to the bedroom,

He laughed at me. 'Let me show you just how useful I can be when I want.'

Oh, _yes_.

Finally. Almost three weeks since we'd met and I'd finally got him in my bedroom, nicely naked, and raring to go, in every imaginable sense.

And then my 'phone rang.

'Don't answer it,' Quatre groaned. Well, it sounded like that, but his mouth was otherwise occupied and it wasn't easy to make out the exact words.

Damn! The thing was, I had to. This late at night, it had to be some sort of work-related emergency. It wasn't, though. It was my best friend.

'Wufei, what's wrong? It's almost midnight!'

_And I have a hot, naked blond on my futon - OK, your futon - who's been promised a night of fun and passion. _

'Is it?' He sounded distracted. 'I hadn't realised it was so late. I'm sorry; I'll let you go back to sleep.'

'Wait!' I said quickly, trying to wrench my brain away from Quatre-fixation - not easy since his fingers were softly stroking my chest - and think about my best friend. 'What did you want? Is this about your date with Zechs?'

'I suppose so.'

Shit. Wufei and I had known each other since we were twelve years old, and he chose this particular moment to want to discuss his personal life.

'Just give me a minute.'

'Just a minute,' I mouthed to Quatre, and then slid out of bed, heading for the sitting room. Leo, not happy about being banished from my room, was busily shredding one of the armchairs, and glared at me when I walked in. I'd be shredding the furniture myself, out of sheer frustration, if I couldn't get a bit of uninterrupted time with my boyfriend. Soon.

Maybe I was just being paranoid, but the entire universe seemed to be conspiring against us.

'Was it terrible? You haven't killed him or anything, have you?'

'No,' he said slowly. 'It wasn't terrible. It was rather pleasant actually.'

Wow. 'Really?'

'Yes. Nothing like I expected. We had dinner at a small country inn, and then he drove me home.'

'And?'

'And what?'

'What happens next? Come on, he must have asked you out again.'

'He intimated he would like to see me again.' He paused, and I could hear his breathing. 'I told him I currently have neither time nor interest in pursuing a relationship, and he apparently accepted that.'

'Is that what you want?' I asked. He didn't sound like it was what he wanted; he actually sounded rather miserable.

'What I want is immaterial. He's flying to Paris tomorrow morning for a week. By the time he returns, he'll probably have forgotten my existence. And I can get on with my life.'

'You know,' I said carefully, 'you could just call him.'

'Why would I want to do that?'

'Because I think you like him. And it's pretty obvious that he likes you.'

'It's nothing of the sort!'

'Wufei, trust me. The guy's crazy about you. I've seen you two together, remember? Both times, he couldn't keep his eyes off you.'

He snorted dismissively. 'You're being ridiculous. He doesn't know anything about me. And I refuse to be simply used as a sexual plaything for some bored aristocrat.'

'You don't know that's what he wants. It's been pretty obvious from the start that you're not just going to jump into bed with him. And he still asked you out tonight. Maybe you should think about that before you make any decisions never to see him again.'

'Perhaps you're right,' he conceded reluctantly. 'I should let you go back to sleep. I'm sorry to have disturbed you so late.'

_So you damn well should be…._

'It's no problem. Listen, I'll call you tomorrow, OK?'

'Is everything all right?' Quatre was sitting up, wrapped in the blanket, and looking concerned.

'He's fine. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I've disconnected my 'phone so there shouldn't be any more interruptions.' I felt a tiny bit guilty about that actually, but if there was a genuine emergency, Cathy could call my pager.

'Oh, goody!' He reached up to twine both arms around my neck and pull me down for a kiss. 'No more interruptions, not even if the room goes on fire.'

'I kind of like the idea of setting you on fire,' I murmured, pressing him down to the mattress.

'I rather like that too,' he purred, squirming deliciously against me. On the plus side, all that waiting hadn't really diminished any of his eagerness. The opposite, if anything, by the feel of him. And the sounds…little moans and whimpers and gasps, and …howls?

'Oh, that's Maggie! What do you think is wrong?' He tensed suddenly, at a very inopportune moment, listening for another sound from his dog.

'She'll probably stop in a couple of minutes if we don't pay any attention,' I suggested, not too hopefully.

Quatre bit his lip but nodded and then she whimpered again, and he was straight out of bed.

'Oh, Trowa, I'm sorry. But it is her first night here. Maybe I'll just go and sit with her for a little while, so she knows I haven't left her all alone in a strange place.'

'Wait.' Damn, what was I going to do? Let him sit with his dog in the kitchen? No way. 'We can bring her in here for a minute; when she falls asleep, we'll put her back in the kitchen.'

'That would be super, if you really wouldn't mind?'

'It's OK.' I bent down and kissed the top of his head. 'You'll make it up to me, right? And there's no rush. We've got all night and all day tomorrow and all night, and we can always call in sick on Monday if we need more time.'

Maggie was ecstatic to see me, hurling herself on my legs and licking my face when I picked her up.

'I need you to help me out here, OK?' I murmured. 'You get to be in the bedroom for a little while, and then you leave him to me. Deal?'

'Here you go. One dog, as requested.' I dropped her on to his lap – the one place where I so desperately wanted to be – and she gave me a smug glance before cuddling up to my boyfriend..

Bitch.

Still, she was only a dog, however appealing. I had other advantages, ones that her master seemed to be rather susceptible to. 'This might be a good time to have a little snack. We still haven't touched the chocolate mousse.' Too busy touching one another. 'Would you like a glass of wine with it?'

'Oh, that would be lovely.' He gifted me with the most radiant smile. 'Thank you. I'm sure she'll fall asleep in a minute.'

I took my time collecting wine, glasses and a bowl of whipped cream. Always nice with chocolate mousse, cream. Or with cute blond guys, come to that.

If we ever made it to the actual _coming_ part…

Maggie, as expected, was fast asleep by the time I went back to my room.

The problem was, so was Quatre. Curled on his side, with his dog on the pillow beside him.

Well, _shit_.


	38. Chapter 38

Warnings: For this story? Surely not…..

Note: many, many thanks to every one who has been reviewing, and to KS, fearless destroyer of dots, semi-colons and typos!

**Chapter 38:**

I love Maggie. I really do. Unfortunately, she has a few less than endearing habits, one of which being her favourite way to wake me up in the morning. Coming to consciousness with a dog's warm, moist tongue in one's ear is not precisely pleasant.

'Ugh. Maggie, go 'way.' I mutter.

'You know, I'm starting to get worried about what I'm doing wrong,' a deep, male, human voice informs me. 'You don't want me to kiss you, and then you fell asleep on me last night. Is there anything you need to tell me?'

Oh no. oh _no_. I actually fell asleep. He'll never forgive that. No one could ever forgive that. 'I'm so sorry,' I gasp, before registering the grin on his face. Miraculously, he's not really upset with me.

'Well, you did have a long day,' he says kindly. 'I was conceited enough to think I might hold your interest, but I guess I was flattering myself.'

'No!'

'Hmm. Maybe not,' he concedes. 'You seem to be..interested in me this morning.'

'I am,' I can't help blushing as Trowa studies the most…interested part of my anatomy.

'How about we see how long I can hold your attention this morning?'

He holds it for a creditably long time. Actually, this time, we manage to hold each other's attention. And afterwards, we just hold each other.

'Didn't you want to…you know?' I ask quietly, wrapped in his arms. Duo wouldn't believe how forward I'm being.

'Of course I did. I _do_. That was just a taster, honey. We've got all morning, right? We can take things slowly.'

'I like the sound of that.' I trail one finger across his chest, tweaking a nipple on the way. This is amazing. I'm naked, in bed, with my perfect, perfect boyfriend, and flirting with him. 'And I like the way you taste.'

'Likewise.' We share a deep, deep kiss, proving beyond doubt just how very much we like the way we taste. 'Let's see what else you like, hmm?'

Where Trowa is concerned, I apparently like anything he cares to do. Until something under the bed starts to beep insistently.

'Fuck! My pager! I have to call work.'

'Cathy? What's wrong?' As she says something, his expression changes, and he gropes for his jeans. 'Yeah, I know where it is. I'll be there as soon as I can. Right, I'm on my way.'

'What's wrong?' I ask, sitting up in bed and watching him trying to get dressed with one hand while switching off his 'phone with the other.

'That was Cathy,' he says, rather unnecessarily. 'One of the top mares at the Noventa racing stable is having problems foaling. I'm really, really sorry but I have to go. There's no one else; Mark's away, Lindsey's little daughter is sick and Cathy has a clinic this morning. I'm sorry.'

'So am I.' I hope this comes out quite as heartfelt as I mean it to. Judging by the look on Trowa's face as he bends to kiss me, I succeed. 'Do you know how long you'll be?'

'I can't say, really. It sounds like this one's going to be tricky. Do you want to hang around and wait for me, or go home?'

'I think I'll go home.' I say it reluctantly. I don't really want to leave; the futon is deliciously warm and smells of Trowa. But it seems rather forward to stay here without him.

'I'll call you when I'm done, OK?' He takes my face between both hands and kisses me.

'I don't want to go. But, I swear, I'll make this up to you, love.' And then he's gone.

Half an hour later, showered and dressed, I'm driving back home. He called me _love_. I know it was really just a throwaway comment as he was rushing off, but still. He said it.

'I think I'm falling in love with him, too,' I inform Maggie, who ignores me, in favour of watching the scenery rush past. Still, I know she likes him really. Instead, I twiddle the radio to try to find some nice, sappy music to match my mood.

Everything is perfect. Well, almost perfect. And, after all, he could call me in a few hours and I could be renewing my acquaintance with the futon. The futon and its owner. Or tenant, I suppose, since Wufei actually owns the thing.

A tiny part of me is actually rather hoping it doesn't happen tonight. I want our first time to be perfect. Granted, I'm sure it will be, whatever the circumstances, but we both have work tomorrow. I have essays to mark, and I have to sort out laundry. We'll both have to drag ourselves out of bed early.

I wonder if Trowa would mind waiting another week? It would just be so _perfect_ if we waited until we got to Nova. I've even decided what bedroom we'll have; it has a real fireplace, and a little balcony overlooking the sea, and if you leave the doors open, you can hear the waves. And there's a little skylight directly over the bed so you can lie and watch the stars.

Oh dear. Duo would tease the life out of me if I told him how I have all this carefully planned. It probably is rather silly…but I just want everything to be special and romantic and utterly perfect. On cue, my 'phone rings, displaying Duo's number.

'Quatre, where are you? At Barton's?'

I blink at Heero's curt tone. 'No. I'm on my way home.'

'Is everything all right?'

'I'm fine. What's wrong?'

'We need you to call over. As soon as you can.'

'_What_? Oh, God, is there something wrong with Duo?'

I can hear a brief scuffle on the other end of the 'phone, and then Duo is talking to me.

'No, nothing like that. We need to tell you something; that's all.'

'At this time on a Sunday? Can't it wait? I was planning to take Maggie home and then…'

'It's about Trowa,' Heero cuts in. 'Quatre, we found out something that we think you should know.'

'Oh, not this again!' I groan. 'Please, just give it a rest. I don't need this right now.'

'Let me talk to him!' Duo interrupts. 'You're no good at this, Heero. Listen, Quat, just call over, OK? We'll make you breakfast.'

Twenty minutes later, I pull up outside their house, still fuming. Why am I so incapable of refusing him anything? I just want to clear up whatever their latest bizarre theory is and go home and wait for my boyfriend to call me.

They are both waiting at the front door, wearing matched expressions of concern. Even Shin, sitting at Duo's feet, looks slightly worried. Which is a difficult expression for a border collie to achieve.

'What's all this about?' I demand, following them into the kitchen. 'Honestly, I don't care if you've discovered that Trowa's a pregnant alien or something. He's my boyfriend and I'm happy and he makes me very happy and…'

'He doesn't exist,' Duo says flatly.

'_What_?' Oh, no. It's finally happened. Heero's managed to infect Duo with all his bizarre conspiracy theories about the universe and my best friend has gone insane. Maybe they can get to share a room in the psychiatric hospital? 'Duo, you're being ridiculous. You know Trowa exists. You've met him. You've been to his home. Of course he exists!'

'That's not what he means!' Heero glares at his partner. 'I told you to let me handle this! Quatre, you'd better sit down and I'll tell you. Listen, Odin's been trying out a new software package over the weekend. It pulls up information from all sorts of databases, public and private, and gives a full profile of someone's life.'

'Isn't that illegal?' I wonder. I like Odin, I really do, but he's worse than Heero. And he has some very strange friends. When I go to his house for chess tournaments, I'm always afraid one of them might shoot me for beating him.

He looks a tiny bit uncomfortable. 'Not really, no. It doesn't give out any information that can't be found out in other ways. Anyway, that's immaterial. He ran Trowa through the system and nothing came up. Nothing,' he repeats impressively.

'That doesn't mean anything! There's probably some sort of glitch in the programme. You said yourself it was new. Besides, what was he doing researching Trowa?'

'He just needed some names, and he had Trowa's on file from when he did the DNA analysis. Quatre, he thought it was a problem with the system too, but he'd already looked up the three of us, plus Zechs and the girls and it worked perfectly.'

Bah, I can't believe they dragged me over here for something this trivial. 'I wish you'd tell Odin to stop using me as a guinea pig. In this country, people have a right to personal privacy.'

'You don't have anything to hide, do you?' he asks curiously.

'That isn't the point! And this whole thing is ridiculous. You can't claim Trowa doesn't exist just because some stupid computer has a bug in its system.'

'It's not just that,' Duo says. 'Odin thought it was a problem with the software, but all the other names had come up perfectly, so he ran Trowa's name through a few other databases and nothing came up. No records at all. Nothing.'

'So? You're being paranoid as usual. I'm not sure if Trowa was even born in Sanque. He might not be registered here at all.'

'That doesn't matter.' Heero shakes his head. 'Even if he was born somewhere else, Quatre, he's living and working here now. There would have to be some record of him. Driving license, social security number. A work permit if he's not really a Sanque citizen. Something.'

'Are you making this up?' I ask suddenly, wondering if it's one of Duo's jokes. So- called jokes.

'No, we're being serious.' Duo holds my gaze. 'Really, Kitty Quat. I was sure Odin had just goofed up somewhere, but he's checked everything. Even combinations of Trowa's name, initials and stuff, and he found nothing.'

'This is insane! Quite insane. He has a job, a sister, I even know his best friend a little bit. Look, you know where he works. Why don't you just hack into their personnel database and look at his records.'

Oh, God. I can't believe I just said that. I'm as bad as they are. But this is…getting a little scary. I don't really believe all of this, obviously; there has to be an innocent explanation. I just…can't see it at the moment.

'We already did,' Heero sighs. 'And nothing. There are four vets employed there; three women and one man in his fifties. No mention of Trowa.'

'Of course he works there! It's where we first met. This is all a stupid misunderstanding. What are you implying; that he's conned everyone in his entire life, including his sister? Or that they're all in on this…deception or whatever you think it is? Why the hell would he do something like that? Do you think he's a terrorist or something?'

'I think he wanted to get close to you.'

Oh no. Oh, _no_. This is just getting insane. Even more insane. '_Please_. Tell me you're not serious. Why the hell would he do something like that?'

'Because of who you are,' Duo puts in quietly. 'Because of who your family is.'

'You think he wants to …abduct me? That's crazy. Apart from anything else, my parents would probably be quite happy if I vanished, so I can't imagine them paying out any ransoms.'

'Quat, just chill, OK?' Duo slides an arm around my shoulders, and I shiver. The last person who touched me like that was Trowa. Who may not be who he says he is. 'We'd pay any ransom for you, wouldn't we, Heero?'

'If anyone ever hurt you, Odin and I would destroy them,' Heero tells me.

'Um..thank you.' I say politely. This is getting more surreal by the second.

'We don't know what the fuck is going on,' Duo says quietly. 'Maybe there is some sort of explanation. We're just worried about you. And we need to find out what's going on with Trowa.'

Heero pushed the heavy, unruly bangs away from his forehead. 'There are actually a few reasons why he might want to get close to you. You are very good friends with the Prince and Princess of Sanque, after all. Maybe he's trying to get to them?'

'Stop it! Just fucking stop it, all right?' I shove Duo away, and watch their eyes widen at my little outburst. 'I'm a friend of Odin's too, aren't I? Maybe Trowa is trying to get to him through me? Have you thought of that?'

Heero's face actually drains of all colour. Ah, he apparently hadn't thought of that particular scenario.

'He doesn't mean that,' Duo says quickly. 'Listen, babe, why don't you take the dogs into the garden for a minute? Let me talk to Quat, OK?'

Once Heero has left, the dogs trailing behind him, Duo comes over and pulls me into a hug.

'This isn't some sort of stupid wind-up, is it?'

'Hell, no. I wouldn't do that to you. I know how much you like this guy.'

'I think it's gone beyond liking at this stage,' I admit, and he sighs.

'Yeah, I kinda suspected that. Did you sleep with him last night?'

'No. I meant to, but things kept going wrong.'

'What?' Duo gives me a curious glance. 'Even if you've forgotten what to do, I thought he'd know.'

'I haven't forgotten! We just kept getting interrupted.' At the time, I was close to screaming with frustration; now, maybe it's for the best that it _didn't_ happen. I have no idea what to think.

The stupid part of me that has watched far too many horror films with Duo is suggesting that Trowa is a demon who wanted to have sex with me so he can suck out my soul.

Although maybe it's not much more ridiculous than the theory that he's a kidnapper.'

'I'm sorry, Quat. I'm really sorry we had to tell you all this shit. But you're my best friend. You're the most important person in my life, besides Heero and I care about you. We're going to sort this out, I promise. We just need to find out what exactly is going on. You know what Heero's like; he sees government conspiracies in the colour of the sky, but there does seem to be something sketchy going on. Maybe you should just ask Trowa straight out what it's all about?'

'No way!' Heero, who's obviously been listening outside, snaps. 'He's not going anywhere near Barton, or whoever he is, until I say it's safe. Understood, Quatre?'

I nod, silently. I do know I should object to this display of high-handedness, but it's actually rather warming to know he cares about me that much.

'Wait a sec,' I say, desperately clutching at straws. 'You said Odin checked out Trowa's DNA against all these criminal databases and there was nothing. Doesn't that mean he's not a criminal?'

'Or that he's too clever to be caught,' Heero says sourly.

'I think that you should talk to him, Quat. Just ask him what's going on and see what he says.'

'And how exactly do I bring up the subject?' I ask sarcastically. 'Tell him that my best friend's boyfriend stole a blood sample from him and that his stepfather's been running background checks on what's probably an illegal tracking system?'

The three of us study the table in silence. This is not…how I wanted today to turn out. If Cathy hadn't paged Trowa, we'd still be in bed together.

'Cathy!' I exclaim. 'We can ask her. We can find some way to bring up the subject and..'

'If she's involved, she'll let Trowa know we're on to him. And if she's not, then it might be dangerous for her.'

'Oh.' I spend a few more minutes gazing the knotted pine table. This isn't happening; this can't be happening. I'm a music teacher. I have a quiet life. I don't know how to handle this sort of thing.

'I think I need to talk to him.' I say finally, before Heero comes up with any bright ideas about torturing Trowa to get answers.

He nods. 'Not alone. In a public place, with us both as backup. And I want you to wear a wire.'

This is all stupid. I can't believe how stupid it is. I'm falling in love with Trowa. I trust him. I trust him not to hurt me. He's been nothing but patient and considerate and gentle; he doesn't deserve that I doubt him.

Except I trust Duo and Heero, too. And they're worried about me.


	39. Chapter 39

-1Note: Many thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You are all far more imaginative than I am and I've tried to incorporate a couple of your ideas in here! Thanks also to KS for proofing, and for liking the original idea, and Snow for technical help.

**Chapter 39:**

Miraculously, watching the newborn foal take its first shaky steps almost made running out on Quatre worthwhile. OK, I said _almost_.

Equally miraculously, I think it was the first time since we'd met that I'd gone for hours without thinking about him. I'd thought about him on the drive to the Noventa estate, of course. I'd tried to concentrate on driving, and the problems that a mare could have foaling, but it had been hard not to think of Quatre tangled in my dark green sheets; those blue eyes glazed over and his mouth swollen.

He'd been disappointed when I'd had to leave; that much had been pretty obvious.

He was just so damn difficult to read sometimes; it had been quite a nice little boost to my ego to know that he'd really wanted me. He'd been brilliant, though. He hadn't bitched or moaned or pulled a hissy fit. He hadn't pulled any kind of emotional blackmail, that if I'd really loved him, I'd have stayed with him.

I'd had all those reactions from previous partners.

Quatre had just been concerned, and he'd given me a very nice kiss before I left.

OK, things hadn't turned out precisely the way I'd planned for us, but on the plus side, he wanted me, and I had almost four hours before I had to go back to the stable to check on the mare and her foal. I didn't think it was really necessary, but Sylvia Noventa had insisted, given that her father and his head groom were both away.

So the pluses pretty much balanced out the minuses, and I dialled Quatre's number.

'Hey.'

There was only silence on the other end. Shit, my 'phone wasn't dying on me, was it?

'Quatre? Can you hear me? It's Trowa.'

'Um, hi,' he managed. 'Sorry, I was just in the middle of something.'

'It's OK. Listen, I just finished up at the stables; I should be home in about twenty minutes. You fancy coming over?'

There was another minute of silence; weird. I'd have to get my 'phone checked out.

'The thing is,' he said at last, 'I had to go into town to get a few things. I haven't had lunch yet; would you like to meet somewhere?'

Oh. So afternoon sex didn't seem to be on the menu. Unless we just grabbed a burger or something and headed back to my place. Or we could just order pizza and have that for dessert? Cold pizza can be pretty good.

'There's a lovely Italian restaurant just opposite the General Post Office,' Quatre informed me, before I had a chance to suggest any of this. 'Don Giovanni's. I can meet you there, if that's OK.'

Right, he wanted a proper sit-down meal for lunch. Well, maybe he thought it would be romantic or something to go to a nice restaurant.

'I guess. The thing is, I said I'd be back at the stables by six, and it's two now, so..'

'Oh, that's all right. I'll get there first and reserve us a table. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. You'll have plenty of time.'

'Right,' I said resignedly. 'That's fine. I should be there at around half two.'

Hell, I was never going to work the guy out. I'd had all these nice visions of him dragging me back to bed, but he apparently wanted a plate of pasta more.

Quatre was sitting at a corner table, slightly removed from the throngs of families and happy couples. He looked distant, somehow. He had a menu in one hand, but he was staring into space.

'Hey!' I rested one hand on his shoulder and he jumped about a foot in the air. 'Sorry about that!' I grinned, surprised when he didn't smile back. That was weird. He'd told me he wasn't into the physical display thing, but I hadn't thought a little thing like that would count. Plus he'd seemed a lot more comfortable with me touching him in public over the last couple of days.

Or maybe he was just kind of pissed that we'd been interrupted earlier.

Well, that was flattering more than anything else.

'So what have you been up to all morning?'

'Oh, I just had to run a few errands.' For the first time, he looked at me properly, searching my face as if looking for something.

'Quatre,' I asked quietly. 'Is something the matter?'

He shook his head, handing me the menu. 'We should probably order. I've been sitting here for nearly half an hour, and they're really busy.'

'Ah, OK.'

Ordering took ages; Quatre read every item on the menu with great attention and then had a long discussion with the waiter about the day's specials. What in God's name was wrong with him? Everything had been fine when I'd left. The actual leaving hadn't been fine; he'd been disappointed, but then so had I. Along with screamingly frustrated.

When we were finally alone with our drinks, I leaned over and whispered in his ear. 'I'm really sorry about this morning, honey. Tell you what; next time you can tie me up and then I won't be able to escape!'

'Trowa!' He hissed, scarlet, jerking away from me.

'What's the matter? Come on, it's not like anyone else can hear us.'

He shook his head, fingers tearing his napkin into shreds.

Oh, shit.

'Quatre. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong, and maybe we can sort it out? If you're still pissed about this morning, OK, I wasn't exactly thrilled about it either, but it's my job. It happens sometimes that I get called to emergencies and there's nothing I can do about that.'

'I know,' he said miserably, and I started to get worried. How the hell was I supposed to make this better? 'I just - this wasn't how I thought today would work out.'

'Yeah, me neither.' Damn, I really, really wanted to touch him. Just a hug or something. 'It's just a rain check, honey, you know that. I'd drag you back home with me right now, except I have to go back out to the stables in a couple of hours, and I might end up having to stay there overnight.'

'Really?' He actually seemed to brighten up a little when I told him that. God, I was never going to understand him. All those mood-swings were starting to give my brain whiplash.

'Is there still a problem?'

He sighed, looking down at his hands. Well, that was answer enough.

'Is it something I've done?'

'I don't know.' He lifted his eyes and gave me another one of those intense stares. 'I don't know if it is you.'

What was that supposed to mean? Shit, we could spend hours going around in circles like this. The waiter turned up with our starters just as I was about to ask him what the matter was. Brilliant timing.

'Quatre?' I prompted, watching him crumble his piece of garlic bread, apparently miles away.

'Fine!' he snapped, apparently to the bread. 'Ah, I mean this tastes very good. Fine, in fact.'

'I'm glad you're enjoying your appetiser,' I said carefully, 'but I think you were going to tell me something, weren't you?'

He nodded. 'I think there's something we need to talk about.'

Oh, shit, did that mean he wanted to break up with me again?

'I think honesty is vital in a relationship,' he said quietly. 'I think that if two people are together, then they shouldn't have secrets. Not important secrets. If you're with someone you should be able to tell them anything. Don't you agree?'

I just nodded.

'I imagine everyone has some sort of secret, but you should be able to share. Even if they're big. Like identity problems or something. It's wrong to keep things hidden. They always get found out in the end.'

'You know you can tell me anything, honey,' I said gently, wondering what was the big secret that he'd been hiding. I couldn't work out whether he meant he was on drugs, or suffering from schizophrenia.

'What?' he asked, head whipping up from an in-depth scrutiny of his starter, sounding confused. 'No! I'm not saying this right. I know you told me you find it hard to trust people, especially when you've just met them, and I can understand that. Really.' He gave me another one of those weirdly intense looks. 'If you have any problems, I'd want you to feel you can trust me, Trowa.'

'I do trust you.' All right, now I'd officially given up on understanding whatever it was he was trying to say.

'Really?' His eyes drifted over my face, apparently searching for something. Was that he was getting at; that whole trust thing? I'd thought we'd gone through that already. 'Do you really trust me, Trowa? If you did have some sort of secret, would you tell me?'

'I don't have any secrets,' I assured him, and then the waiter turned up with our main courses, flourishing black pepper and parmesan, which effectively put an end to the private conversation. Probably just as well; he'd been saying something about witness protection programmes and sex change operations. God, I really hoped he wasn't taking some sort of drugs.

'Hey, wait 'til you see this.' I fished in my jacket pocket for my 'phone. 'I took a couple of photos of the foal this morning.' I handed him the camera. 'Quatre, meet Trowa.' I could feel my grin broaden at his expression. 'They offered to call him after me.'

'They're calling him Trowa Barton?' Quatre asked, looking at me intently.

'Well, that's what the girl said. Sylvia Noventa. Her father might have other ideas, but racehorses do have pretty weird names.'

'I suppose Trowa _is _quite unusual. I've never heard it before. It's not a Sanque name, is it?'

'Don't think so; it's just an abbreviation anyway.'

Quatre stared at me, a few strands of linguine dangling from his fork. 'What do you mean? Isn't Trowa your real name?'

'Nope.' I ate a mouthful of my own lasagne. 'It's Triton, really. Horrible, isn't it? Everyone's always called me Trowa, luckily.'

'Oh, but I think Triton's a lovely name!' He sounded positively giddy. I was never going to be able to keep up with him. Well, not with his thought processes, at least. 'So your real name is Triton Barton?'

'Triton Bloom,' I muttered, figuring I might as well get all the damn revelations over with in one go, and waiting for the inevitable teasing over having a flower as my surname.

Instead, my dear, confusing Quatre shot me one of his most blinding smiles. 'Your name is Triton Bloom? Not Trowa Barton? Did you hear that?'

'Well, of course I heard it! I am sitting beside you,' I reminded him.

'Oh! I didn't mean…um, why don't you use your real name?'

I shrugged. 'When I was born, my mother registered me as Triton Bloom. Everyone always called me Trowa, and most people just used nicknames in the circus. No one ever bothered with surnames. It was never a big deal 'til I came to live here. People just assumed my name was Barton, and it was easier to go along with that, having the same surname as my dad and Cathy. I never use Bloom, although it's on all my official documentation.'

'That's wonderful!' He beamed at me. 'I mean, ah, I think it's, wonderful that they're calling a horse after you.'

'Yeah, it is pretty cool.' I grinned at him, glad to have my sunny Quatre back. 'I'm not sure if it'll actually happen, though. I suppose it's up to General Noventa rather than his daughter.'

'I know Sylvia actually. She's a really good friend of Relena's.' He went all quiet again for a minute and then stood up. 'I have to go to the bathroom. Excuse me please.'

He was in the bathroom so long I'd started to worry about him. He was smiling happily when he came out though.

'So…what was the big secret thing you wanted to talk about?'

'Oh, it was nothing important,' he beamed. 'I just thought we needed to know that we could trust each other.'

'You're not really in the Witness Protection programme then?'

He blushed a vivid crimson. 'Of course not. I was just giving a totally hypothetical example. I wasn't really being serious. Anyway, the foal's so adorable! Was it a difficult birth?'

'The actual birth wasn't too bad. The problem was that the placenta - that's the afterbirth - wasn't expelled right away, and I had to clean it out manually.' I noticed he was staring to look rather green, and decided to tone down the technical details. 'It was great, actually. Cathy and I have never done a procedure like that together, before, and we worked really well together. I'd been kind of worried about it; she still tends to treat me like her little brother sometimes. I caught her looking over my shoulder a couple of times when I started here, even when I was doing simple stuff, and it bugged the hell out of me. But this morning was brilliant; she just treated me like any other vet and left me in charge when she had to go back to take a clinic.' I took a long swallow of coffee. 'I'll tell you one thing; it made me decide to accept the permanent job offer to stay here.'

'I didn't realise you were on a trial period.'

I pulled a face. 'Well, sort of. I think we were both a bit worried about what it would be like working together, so we decided to try it for two months and see how we got on.'

Quatre gasped. 'Do you mean, you might not have ended up staying here? That you would have left?'

'Hey, calm down, OK? The first week was a bit tricky; Cathy was double-checking every damn thing I did and it didn't help that we were also sharing a house. There were a couple of times when I was on the verge of packing up, but I suppose it got better. And then I met this blond guy and had a serious incentive to stay on and make it work.'

'I'm glad,' he said quietly.

'Yeah, me too.'

Damn. What the hell were we doing in this stupid public place where I couldn't just kiss the hell out of him?

'You are definitely staying now, aren't you?' he asks, just making sure.

'Absolutely. I've already told Cathy it's definite. She can officially have me listed as staff now.'

'So you're not currently listed as personnel?' he asked curiously, and I shook my head.

'There wasn't any point, really, until I knew for sure that I was staying. So do you want dessert? Or coffee or something?'

Quatre blushed furiously for no reason that I could see; it hadn't been _that _suggestive a comment, had it?

'I think I've had enough, thank you. Let's just get the bill and we can….I don't _want _any dessert.'

'Well, it's not compulsory or anything.' Surely he wasn't taking drugs or something? This was an extremely weird conversation. Maybe he just had really low blood sugar and needed to be fed more regularly? It didn't sound like he ate properly; I was going to have to start looking after his diet. Or maybe it was just sexual frustration; something I could identify with. Something I'd be more than happy to help him with.

'What time have you to go back to the Noventa Estate?'

I checked my watch. 'I said I'd try to get there around five. We still have a bit of time; want to go for a walk or something?'

'Oh, I'd love that. I just need to go to the bathroom first.'

The trip was a little shorter this time, and he was positively beaming. What was he doing in there? Jerking off or something?

'So when do I get to see you again? We have to go and look at those beds, right?'

_Look at them, test them out, maybe go home and give my futon a bit of attention so it won't feel left out? _

Quatre considered. 'I can't really do tomorrow; we're having a meeting about fundraising at the Youth Club. And I'm meeting Duo on Wednesday.'

'Tuesday or Thursday then?' I suggested. That worked OK. I had to work on Monday evening and I could meet up with Wufei on Wednesday.

'Tuesday would be perfect,' he decided. 'I'm going out with Relena on Thursday night. And then we'll be in Nova for the weekend.'

'I can't wait. So what are you and Relena up to?'

He made a face. 'It's nothing very exciting; just a dinner in aid of a children's charity, but I promised to escort her.'

'Tuesday then. And maybe if it doesn't take too long you'll come back to my place, and spend a little time with the futon?'

This time, his smile positively split his face in two. 'I promise, before you get rid of the futon, we'll give it the send-off it deserves.'

'I like the sound of that.' I _really_ liked the sound of that, actually. 'And this time, no 'phones, no neighbours, no pets interrupting.'

'No ridiculously paranoid friends interfering,' he said firmly. Before I could figure out what that was supposed to mean, he added, eyes flashing and blush threatening, 'Maybe I will have to tie you up so you can't escape?'

Wow. I thought back to the game and how much he'd enjoyed tying me to a tree. That had been pretty hot. I'd never let anyone tie me up before, but then his rope-tying skills weren't worth a damn so it hardly mattered. I could indulge his little bondage fetish if it made him happy. 'Whatever you want. I trust you.'

'Trust,' he murmured, almost too low for me to hear. 'I trust you as well, Trowa.'


	40. Chapter 40

-1Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 40:**

'That's all right with you, Quatre, isn't it?'

I glance up from the 'phone I have hidden under the table and realise everyone is watching me.

'Quatre? That's OK? ' Lisa asks - who's in charge of co-ordinating volunteers at the Youth Centre prompts.

Oh no. I can't admit I haven't been paying attention. Well, not to the meeting. It's been like this all day; I couldn't concentrate in class, and now I've promised to come to this fund-raising committee meeting at the youth club. I've been paying a lot of attention to the texts Trowa's been sending me. Far too much really; I've absolutely no idea what's going on.

'Ah, yes. That's fine.'

'Good. So that's Quatre and Wufei assigned.' Lisa ticks something off her notepad. 'Now, I think that's everything. I'll see you all next week, and thanks for all your wonderful suggestions.'

I've agreed to do something with Wufei?

I hope it's nothing too crazy; some of the other volunteers had rather wild suggestions for fund raising. Still, Wufei seems fairly conservative. It's probably something very harmless.

'Thanks for offering to help me out,' Wufei says as we walk to our cars. He sounds all innocently polite, but there's a definite gleam in his eye.

'That's no problem.'

'I was a little worried that no one else would volunteer, actually. I thought it was a good idea to raise money, but no one else seemed to be overly keen on getting sponsored to shave their heads.'

'I agreed to shave my _head?' _I gape at him. Oh, no. Please don't let this be happening.

Wufei nods solemnly. 'And your eyebrows, of course. I think it's a wonderful idea. We should collect a fortune in sponsorship. Especially as we're going to wax as well and…'

'What? You're joking! Please tell me you're joking.' He starts to laugh and I sag against my car in relief.

'I don't think Trowa would be too keen if you shaved your head,' he says, grinning at me.

'What exactly are we doing?'

'Just a table quiz. It's scheduled for three weeks' time. We should probably try to meet up this week, and get started, don't you think?'

'I suppose; this week's a bit hectic for me, though.' I quickly run through my schedule. Cinema with Duo; bed shopping with Trowa; Relena's party. I can't do anything on Friday; I have to get ready for Nova. 'I don't suppose you'd be free for an hour now, by any chance? I've actually helped out at a table quiz last year at school; I still have a lot of information at home on my computer.'

Wufei considers; I get the feeling he isn't used to making sudden plans like this. Then he nods. 'I need to go home first to feed my dog. Is that all right?'

'That's fine.' I give him my address, and he says he should be over in about an hour. This is actually a better plan than him coming home with me; at least now I'll have a chance to tidy up whatever mess Dorothy's managed to make since this morning. And I can have a little time to myself if she isn't home.

Her car is missing, but Heero's is parked outside my house. He is standing just inside my hall, fiddling with the alarm system.

'Hi Heero!' I scoop Maggie up for her to lick my face. 'What are you doing here?'

'Modifying your alarm.' He gives me a curious glance. 'I told you this morning, remember?'

Oh, right. So he did. It's just become very difficult to concentrate on things that aren't Trowa-related. One of my students played a whole piece this morning in the wrong key and I didn't even notice. One of the other pupils had to point it out. I _think _I managed to cover by saying it was a test of the class's listening skills. I hope so, anyway.

'I wanted to talk to you actually.'

'This isn't more about Trowa, is it?' I ask sceptically.

'Well, no.' He has the grace to look slightly abashed. 'I'm sorry about all that yesterday.'

_Yes, so am I._

'But it's better to be safe than sorry, don't you think?' he continues. Wow. I can't believe he's actually looking for me to agree with him; he normally doesn't need that sort of support or approval. He's turning into me! 'I couldn't have known he was using a false name. Not that I blame him. At least, now you know he's legit. And Odin actually checked out the DNA sample I took against the name Triton Bloom,' he snickers for some reason; it's not _that _funny. 'It matches perfectly.'

'You couldn't have done that yesterday?' I wonder. I'd never even thought of that; stupid me. It would have been so much easier; after all, we had a sample of Trowa's DNA. We could just have run it through Odin's computers and found a match - and Trowa's identity.

Heero shrugs. 'It's hard to do these things on a Sunday. Plus it was much more entertaining the way we did it. I've been dying to try out those new listening devices.'

'Well, I'm glad I provided you with some entertainment,' I mutter. 'And you can tell your boyfriend that all his smart little comments didn't help. I wasn't planning to order dessert and let Trowa feed it to me naked. And I have no intention of tying Trowa up and covering him with ice-cream.'

'He was only trying to lighten the atmosphere,' Heero defends his partner loyally. 'You were stressed; he wanted to help. And I'm sure Trowa wouldn't have objected to dessert.'

Aaargh! That's it. He's been officially corrupted by his partner. He never used to say things like that. Well, not to me anyway. He said them to Duo all the time. 'He didn't help,' I huff. 'Trowa probably thinks I'm insane after the conversation we had. I was trying to be serious and Duo kept saying the most inappropriate things.'

'I wanted to talk to you about him.' Heero says, suddenly serious.

'Duo? He's all right, isn't he?'

'I don't know, to be honest. He just.. he hasn't been himself over the past few weeks. I know there's something wrong, but he won't say anything about it. I know how close you two are. I thought he might have confided in you. I'm not saying you should betray a confidence, but I think I have a right to know what's wrong.'

'He's just a bit stressed from work, at the moment,' I say carefully. 'I think they're under pressure to finish this job as soon as possible. I'm sure he'll be more relaxed when it's over.'

Heero grunts. 'He never gets pressured from work! He's always complaining that I'm the workaholic, and I need to slow down a bit. Then, last week, he worked late every night. It's like he's avoiding me.' He stares at me. 'Quatre, have I done anything wrong?'

Heero may have rather unique social skills, but he is perceptive, especially when it concerns Duo. And now I'm feeling terrible. Duo's told me what's going on, but I've sworn not to tell anyone. Also, I never noticed he was having problems until he told me. I've just been far too wrapped up in Trowa. I'll call him this evening, I resolve, and see if there's anything I can do. It isn't fair to leave poor Heero thinking he's at fault somehow.

'No!' I reassure him quickly. 'I swear, he would have told me if there was anything like that. Remember when I helped him out last weekend? He was all excited that he was getting to spend the rest of the weekend with you, and that you were planning a holiday.'

'Hn.' He doesn't look terribly convinced. 'You're positive there's nothing I should know about?

Oh, I hate this; I've never been any good at lying. I'm saved, thankfully, by Heero's 'phone, which suddenly starts to ring. Judging by the way his face lights up, like he's been handed a precious, unexpected gift, the caller has to be Duo.

'Yes, I'm still at Quatre's. Yes, I'll tell him. All right, my love. I'll be home in ten minutes. I think you should be still in the shower by then. I hope so anyway.'

'I have to go,' he announces abruptly, extending his free hand into the air and closing it about something. 'Duo says he'll call you later.' Catching my eyes on his closed fist, he explains. 'Duo blew me a kiss. He's told me this is how you catch them.'

Oh, God. He says this without the slightest trace of self-consciousness. No wonder Duo loves him so much. I could fall in love with him myself, at moments like these.

Wufei arrives just as I'm waving Heero off. Maggie scampers up to greet him, tail wagging madly.

'This must be Maggie,' he smiles down at her. 'Trowa's always talking about her. She's adorable.'

'Isn't she?' I smile at him, pleased that he likes my pet. 'Can I get you a drink? Or would you like something to eat?'

'Just some tea, please.'

It's lucky he didn't want any food, I reflect a minute later. I don't think it's occurred to Dorothy that the refrigerator isn't capable of filling itself; there's hardly anything to eat and I didn't get a chance to shop over the weekend. Too busy checking that my partner isn't a crazed stalker/abductor. Which of _course _he isn't.

Wufei, rather surprisingly, is sitting at the piano when I carry the tea try back to the living room.

'Do you play?'

'Not really. I used to have lessons, when I was a boy in China, but then we moved to Sanque.' He runs his fingers over the keys. 'I hadn't realised you played the piano as well as the violin. It's a beautiful instrument.'

'It was my grandfather's.' Wufei stands up and I take his place on the stool, fingers unconsciously picking out a scale. I'd learned to play on this piano, sitting on my grandfather's lap. He's been dead for almost five years now, and I still miss him. He taught me to play the piano, he took me to my first concert and he bought me my first violin the next day. I think he'd approve of what I'm doing with my life.

'Can you play something else?' my guest asks, and I realise I've moved from scales into the Bach piece my students are learning in class.

'Of course. What would you like?'

'Oh, anything.'

Ugh, I hate when people say that, especially if I have no idea of their musical tastes. Still thinking of my grandfather, I play a little selection of his favourite pieces. Bach, a couple of old Sanque ballads, some jazz to finish up.

'You're very good,' Wufei tells me, sounding slightly surprised. 'Haven't you ever thought of playing professionally?'

'I can't play in front of large audiences,' I say simply, standing up, thankful when he leaves it at that.

'My computer's in the garden room, if you'd like to come this way.'

We've always called the conservatory the garden room because that's how the estate agent who sold the house described it, and because I think the last owners did originally use it for gardening and flower arranging.

Duo used it as a studio, because it has wonderful natural light, and I use it as a combination of study and sitting room.

Like most people who come in here, Wufei goes straight to the painting; Duo's painting. It's in oils and it's huge; great swirls and sparks of vivid jewel colours. It could be outer space or a firework display or just the colours of someone's imagination.

'That's magnificent.'

'Are you interested in art?'

He just shrugs. 'Not really. My cousin Meiran studied art history; she's always dragged me around art galleries with her. I've never heard of the artist. D. Maxwell. Is he from Sanque?'

I can't help grinning. 'You've met him a few times. My friend Duo, remember? He was at the barbeque and the cinema.'

'I hadn't realised he was an artist. Do you know if he takes commissions? Meiran is actually getting married in a couple of months, and a painting would be a perfect present.'

'Well, I can ask him if you like,' I say. I don't think Duo will agree; he claims his painting is just a little hobby. Still, I can try.

'I'd love a dog like this,' he says wistfully as Maggie snuggles up on his lap. 'She's so affectionate and well-behaved.'

'Oh, she has her moments. Trowa's told me your little Peke is a bit of a demon.'

'Your friend Zechs seemed to be able to control her, but she never pays any attention to me.'

'He said she was very cute,' I say tentatively. Of course, he also thought her master was cute, but I'm not sure if Wufei would like to hear that. 'I know he enjoyed looking after her for you,' I add, crossing my fingers. Well, apart from the parts when she bit him, and attacked their cat, and upset all his horses, and ruined a tapestry of his mother's, and destroyed the upholstery in his new car. He enjoyed all the rest of it.

'It was very kind of him to help,' Wufei says stiffly, not looking too pleased about it.

Oh, dear. I haven't talked to Zechs yet about how their date on Saturday went. Most unusually, he hasn't been on the 'phone to tell me all about it. That probably isn't a good sign. And Wufei did call Trowa in the middle of the night to talk about it, although Trowa wouldn't tell me what he'd said.

'Oh, it was no trouble,' I lie calmly. 'He loves dogs. He mentioned you two were going out on Saturday evening; did you have a nice time?'

'It was quite pleasant, yes.'

_Quite pleasant!_

What a terrible way to describe a date! Their first date, too. I may be Zechs Resistant, as Duo puts it, but I can see perfectly well that he's incredibly handsome and charming and attentive. And I was so sure that Wufei was interested in him. They'd make a lovely couple.

'Where did you go?' I persist, as casually as possible, pouring him out more tea.

'A little restaurant out in the country. It was charming.' He takes a sip of tea, and then smoothly changes the subject. 'Perhaps we can look at this quiz information now; I'd rather not leave Nataku alone for too long.'

'Of course. Just let me switch on the PC.' Honestly, that's all he's going to say? It was pleasant and the restaurant was charming? Duo would kill me if I tried to fob him off with that sort of answer. Well, Wufei isn't getting away with it either. He obviously needs someone to talk to about Zechs, and I'm not sure if Trowa is too good at this sort of thing.

'I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself. I know Zechs was really looking forward to spending the evening with you. He wanted it to be perfect.'

'He did?' Wufei blurts, and then looks like he wishes he could bite his tongue off. Silly idiot. It's obvious that Zechs is utterly crazy about him.

'Oh, of course he did. He really likes you, you know.' I key in my password, noting Wufei's blush out of the corner of my eye. Eureka! Excellent peripheral vision is such a useful ability. 'Now, where did I save all of this? I should have a list of the questions we used. So when are you seeing him again?'

'I'm not,' Wufei tells me, cradling his tea cup in one hand, and stroking Maggie with the other. 'I informed him that I have no intention of getting involved with someone at this point in my life, and he respected my decision.'

He _what_?

What on earth is going on? Is Zechs playing hard to get or something? No, I don't think he can do that; not this time. I've seen the way he looks at Wufei. And Wufei doesn't look overly ecstatic about Zechs' 'respecting his decision' either. They're both idiots. It's obvious how they feel about each other. Well, they just need someone to give them a little helping hand. I can do that.

'That's a shame,' I say casually, scrolling down my list of folders and trying to remember exactly what Trowa said about Wufei's last, disastrous relationship. Stupidly, I hadn't been paying a lot of attention at the time; well, we'd been in the middle of our first major argument. I know he said that Wufei had been badly hurt by someone who hadn't taken the relationship seriously. 'He really liked you.'

'He hardly knows me.' Wufei gives me a glare that might have been intimidating if I'd never met Heero. As it is, I can shrug it off easily.

'Oh, you've met a few times by now. Enough to have some idea whether or not you like each other. I knew I liked Trowa the first time I met him. Of course, if you're not interested in Zechs, then that's the end of it,' I say briskly. Wufei says nothing, just strokes Maggie's ears gently, looking terribly sad. '_Do _you like him?'

'I don't know him well enough to say,' he tells me rather defensively, shooting me another glare. 'I've made it very clear that I'm not interested in pursuing a relationship with him. Zechs seemed perfectly happy with that.'

Yes, and now he's plainly regretting it.

Oh dear. He simply has no idea what he wants. If Zechs had tried to convince him otherwise, he'd probably have been furious. And now he's managed to convince himself that this is what he wants, which is clearly isn't. What a good thing I invited him home with me tonight.

'Zechs isn't the sort of person who'd try to force his attentions on someone who isn't interested,' I say gently. 'If you told him that's how you feel, he won't pressure you into anything, regardless of what he wants.'

Wufei blushes again, sweeping a few loose strands of hair back from his face. He really is very good-looking; I can quite see what Zechs sees in him. I really hope nothing ever happened between him and Trowa. Not that I can ever blame anyone for falling in love with their best friend. 'It seemed the best decision. I don't need a relationship right now. I have my career, a very demanding pet, some time-consuming hobbies, my voluntary work.'

'I have all those things too,' I say, rubbing Maggie's tummy and sending her a mental apology. Of course, she isn't in the least _demanding_. 'So does Trowa.' Honestly, I can't imagine he's using his job as an excuse for not wanting a boyfriend. How ridiculous. 'We still find time to be together.' Not enough, though. Never enough. At least, we'll have some uninterrupted time at Nova.

That's going to be wonderful. And Trowa's even agreed with me that we should wait to get there, before we sleep together. He's just so _perfect_. In every possible way.

Wufei sniffs. 'I hardly think we're compatible. Now, perhaps it's time we looked at the quiz questions?'

Really, do his other friends let him get away with these pathetic attempts to change the subject?

'Of course. I'm just trying to remember where I saved the file. Why don't you think you're compatible? You both like music and art.' _You're both gay and single_. 'You said yourself that you enjoyed going out with him on Saturday, so you must have something in common. Don't you think you should get to know him a little better before deciding you're wrong for each other?'

'I don't just mean our personalities. We have totally different lifestyles. He's a prince. And I've seen more than enough magazine articles to know that he has very different morals and principles to me. If I did want to be with someone, I wouldn't choose a - a playboy.'

'He can't help being a prince,' I say reasonably. 'And I wouldn't believe all that nonsense in the tabloids; it's all sensationalised to sell more copies. Yes, he was a little wild when he was younger, but it was difficult for him. He was only thirteen when his parents died; he was expected to take on a lot of responsibility when he was just a child. He's calmed down an awful lot in the past few years. And, if you're worried about trusting him, I promise, he's always been totally faithful to his partners. I think he's at the stage where he's looking for the one perfect person to share his life.'

'I see.' Wufei is picking at a loose thread in his shirt; I didn't think he was the sort of person to be fidgety. But maybe I've given him something to think about. I can't imagine he's into casual flings either. If he believes Zechs is serious about him, it might pique his interest a little. 'Anyway, this is pointless. I've already told him I'm not interested.

'Well, we can fix that. If you like, I can ask you both to dinner sometime next week and you can talk. I'll invite some other people as well, so it won't be too obvious.'

_Next week. _It's actually hard to think of anything past next weekend. I haven't even thought about packing yet, and I have to make sure that Duo and Heero can mind Maggie for me.

Wufei shakes his head slowly. 'That's very kind of you, but no. I need to do this myself.'

'If it helps at all, I know he really likes you. If you do ask him out, there's absolutely no way he'll refuse.'


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing. Futon Fusion is co-owned by Kaeru Shisho and myself.

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 41: Appetisers, Nibbles and Snacks.**

'So what sort of bed are you looking for exactly?' Quatre asked, as we walked around Futon Fusion. Despite the name, there didn't seem to be any futons on display; just beds as far as the eye could see.

This bed shopping expedition was turning out to be a lot more complicated than I'd imagined; we'd already spent ten minutes with one of the assistants explaining the different mattress types, and pointing out the models which came with built-in storage drawers. That seemed like a total waste of money; after all, you could kick stuff under the bed perfectly well.

I grinned. 'One with you in it?'

'Well, I think that's pretty much a given,' he murmured, blushing to the very tips of his ears. 'Anything else?'

'That's pretty much it. OK, I guess small enough to fit in my room, and big enough for me to stretch out in. With you, obviously.' I added, just to see if his blush would deepen. It did, but he managed to give me a teasing smile and a whisper of 'well, obviously.'

'Not that it wasn't nice curling up with you in that bunk bed at the lake, but I kind of like the idea of having more space,' I commented, as we moved past a couple of girls gushing over a display of cashmere pillows. Oh, this was _fun_. I loved teasing him; I loved the fact that he was happily responding. I really loved the prospect of taking home a nice, big bed and christening it with him.

I'd show him just how _perfect _sex could be between us.

'I like this one,' he decided, moving off to a bed by the wall, and stroking the gleaming wooden headboard.

'Nope, definitely not,' I decided. 'This wood looks nice, but it's too hard. We'd both be banging our heads off it all the time.'

His eyes gleamed. 'Haven't you ever heard of pillows? They're supposed to stop that from happening.'

'Oh, pillows have a nasty habit of falling on to the floor,' I teased. 'I'd prefer you not to be cracking your skill at critical moments.'

Yeah, and then complaining about headaches. Actually, that was pretty much the only reason so far that hadn't prevented us sleeping together.

'This one's really cool.' I pointed out a bed in the corner. It was pretty funky; adorned with a black leather headboard, and matching duvet set. 'You don't like it?'

'I think it's probably too big for your room.'

Hmm, maybe he had a point.

'This one is beautiful,' he remarked, stopping beside an antique-looking canopy bed, with ornately carved bedposts.

'I don't think it would really suit my apartment, somehow. Though those posts would be very useful for handcuffs, if you seriously want to get into the whole bondage thing.'

'I don't!' he gasped. 'You're the one who keeps talking about that.'

'And you're the one who tied me up, remember? You started it!'

'Trowa, stop it!' he hissed, just as the salesgirl drifted over to us. She'd obviously picked up on the fact that we were happy drifting around by herself, and was wise enough just to check on us every few minutes.

'How are you gentlemen doing?'

'OK, I think. Still looking.'

'I noticed you were admiring some of the leather headboards. If you're interested in an upholstered frame, this one's on special offer, since it got slightly damaged when we were moving it into the showroom.' She pointed out an almost invisible scuff mark in the right-hand corner. 'The manufacturers refused to take it back, so my boss put in on sale. 'It's almost half the original price.'

It was nice too; a dark chocolate-brown brushed suede headboard, that looked about the right size. And, at a fifty per cent discount, it was definitely the right price.

'You mind if we try it out?'

'Of course not. Take your time and I'll be at the desk if you need anything.'

Kicking off my shoes, I slid onto the mattress. Wufei's futon was fine, except that it was too short for me, and the wooden slats had an annoying habit of digging through the thin cover. This bed was bliss; only one thing could possibly make it better.

'Aren't you going to test it too?' I asked Quatre. 'Given that I hope you'll be spending plenty of time in it with me?'

Blush firmly in place, he nonetheless slid off his shoes and got in beside me.

'Nice, hey?'

'Oh, I love it!' He bounced up and down experimentally. OK, maybe not the ideal circumstances for the first time I lured him into bed with me, but I'd have it in my bedroom as soon as possible. With Quatre in it again, hopefully. Naked and bouncing around for other reasons than to try out the mattress.

'When's the soonest you can have it delivered?'

'I'm sorry. We only have one delivery van, and we're really busy at the moment. The earliest we can make it would be Saturday afternoon.'

Damn. OK, I'd known we probably wouldn't be able to get the thing right away, but I hadn't thought it would take that long. I did briefly consider asking Wufei to be there to accept the delivery; he'd already offered to drop by to feed Leo, but I couldn't really expect him to spend Saturday hanging around waiting for a delivery man that would almost certainly turn up several hours later than planned.

'We're going away for the weekend. We probably won't be home 'til Monday evening.'

'Oh, I see. How about Tuesday morning?'

'That's fine.' OK, it wasn't really fine, but it would have to do.

'What next?' I asked as we left the shop. 'Would you like to go and get dinner somewhere?'

_Alternatively we could just go home and have sex? That would work too._

Or no, that wasn't an option. Not at the moment. On Sunday evening, he'd asked me if I'd mind waiting until we got to Nova before we 'took the next step', as he'd put it. What could I have done but agree? I didn't even get why he still wanted to wait, except that apparently the cottage there was very romantic and it would be 'perfect for our first time'.

As far as I was concerned, any horizontal surface where we could be uninterrupted would be perfect enough, but my cute blond had other ideas, so that was that.

Still, having established the ground rules had apparently relaxed him a lot. Three weeks ago, he'd never have got into bed with me in a semi public place. We'd come a long way already; he was much more comfortable around me, now, to the point where he was flirting in public and even letting me touch him a little bit more.

'I really should go home and check on Maggie. Dorothy said she was going out this evening and I don't really like leaving her in the house at night by herself. If you don't mind, we could maybe get a takeaway and stay in?'

'That'd be great.' Way better than going to a restaurant anyway. This way, we could eat on his nice couch and then find some nice way of entertaining ourselves. Full sex might be off the menu, but that still left plenty of other stuff.

'Oh, I forgot to tell you. I've got some really good news. Cathy said that since I spent most of Sunday working, I can take this Saturday off, so we can go to Nova a day earlier. If that's OK?'

'That's fabulous.' He gushed happily. 'I can't wait. You're going to love Zechs' house. All the rooms have huge windows overlooking the sea, and there's a deck with a hot tub.'

'A hot tub sounds pretty nice. A hot tub with you and me in it sounds amazing.'

'Doesn't it?' he beamed happily, as we reached his car. 'I'll see you back at my house.'

I pulled up just as he was opening his front door.

'Do you want to go into the living room? I'll just feed Maggie and let her out in the garden, and then I'll bring in some takeaway menus?'

'Sure.'

His living room looked slightly different; someone had strewn girly lingerie all over the couch. 'Hey, Quatre. Is there something you need to tell me?'

'Oh no!' My boyfriend gasped behind me. 'Dorothy promised me she'd clean up her laundry before she went to work. Sorry, sorry,' He was scarlet as he dashed around picking up the frilly little things. 'She has simply no concept of tidiness.'

'Ah.' I picked up a lacy bra and twirled it from one finger. 'You're sure you don't have cross-dressing tendencies that you're too shy to talk about?'

'I do _not_!' For a minute, he looked unsure as to whether he should be offended or amused, then he grinned at me. 'It might be a rather effective way to stop her leaving her things around, though, if I started wearing them.'

'That could work.' I held up a black satin thong that had been draped over his music stand. 'This is actually pretty hot; she has nice taste in underwear. You'd look really good in this.'

'I don't think so!' he said firmly, dumping the frillies behind the couch. 'I'm going to kill her! I told her I might be bringing you home, and she said she'd have everything tidy.'

'Things aren't going too well with her then? You haven't mentioned her for a while.'

'It's all right, I suppose. In some ways, it's nice having someone here to talk to when I get home. And she works rather odd hours, so it means Maggie has someone around when I'm not here. She just has some rather irritating habits.'

'Bras on the couch? G- strings on the piano?'

'That's one of them, yes.'

'No sign of her moving out then?'

'Not really,' he sighed. 'She did look at some apartments last week, but they were all too expensive. And I can't exactly tell her to leave.'

'Never mind,' I consoled. 'I'm sure she'll find a nice place soon.' She could even take over my place, and I could move in here. I'd be more than happy to pay for my keep. Even financially. 'And in the meantime, you're getting some rent from her, right?'

'Er, not exactly. I can't just _ask _her, and she hasn't offered. If it was a long term arrangement, we'd have to sort something out, but if she's only staying for a short while, then I don't really mind.'

'Did Duo pay rent while he was living here?'

'Well, yes, but that was different. We'd shared an apartment for years before I got my own house and we had a separate bank account that we both paid money into. When we moved here, we just kept that system.'

I snorted. 'If Dorothy's got comfortable, rent-free accommodation, she'll never want to leave.'

'Oh, don't say that! I'm sure she'll find somewhere perfect soon. And it's not so bad having her here, really. She's offered to cook for my dinner party next week.'

'That's still on then, is it?' Which meant that all the matchmaking schemes were still on, too. Damn.

'Of course,' he said brightly. 'It's going to be such fun having all of our friends together! And a wonderful chance for Wufei and Zechs to spend some time together in a nice, relaxed atmosphere.'

'I thought Zechs was supposed to be going to France for a couple of weeks. That's what Wufei told me.'

'Oh, it's only an hour's flight away,' Quatre brushed that tiny objection away. 'And it's a business trip; he'll be coming home for the weekend anyway. What's the matter? I thought you liked the idea of them getting together.'

'I think Wufei is more than capable of sorting out his own love life.' I didn't tell Quatre, but I was a bit irritated with my friend at the moment. He'd made a face when I'd told him Quatre and I were heading off for the weekend, muttering something about he thought we were moving too fast. Honestly, if we went any slower, we'd be going backwards.

'So what would you like for dinner?' I asked, leafing through his massive collection of take away menus and hoping to distract him from the matchmaking schemes with the offer of food. 'Chinese? Indian? Pizza?'

'Does that mean you're not on the menu?' he asked daringly.

'I kind of thought I was dessert.'

His eyes sparkled. 'You could be the appetiser instead. If you wanted. If you're not too hungry.'

'Oh, I'm hungry all right,' I drawled, pulling him against me. 'Starving.'

After that, I let him be the one to take control. He obviously liked being in charge, sometimes, and I wasn't complaining. Not while I got to reap all the benefits of having a hot, gorgeous guy strip me off and dedicate his considerable talents to making me feel unbelievably good.

'Does this feel good?' He tilted his head to ask, all that lovely blond hair tickling gently across the more sensitive parts of my body. Stupid, stupid question. Of _**course**_ it felt good.

Mind-blowingly good. Basically, any part of him touching any part of me felt pretty amazing, especially if it was his mouth on that particular part, and he had a definite talent for making me feel incredible.

'And this?'

I could only moan as that gorgeous, glorious, gifted mouth drifted away and he nipped my thigh gently before zoning back in on that certain place and swirling me away to an impossibly long, drawn-out climax.

'You're such a tease, you know that?' I was vaguely aware that I needed to reciprocate at some point in the very near future. I had every intention of doing so; just not right at that precise moment. Not until my bones had started to solidify a little bit. In the meantime, it was really, really nice to lie on the couch with him.

Until I made that totally innocent comment, and he jerked upright away from me.

'Quatre, what's the matter? What did I do?'

'I'm sorry,' he supplied stiffly. 'I didn't mean to tease you. I'm sorry.'

'Hey, I meant it like a compliment. Really. I loved what you were doing. Every single thing. Now, get back here.'

He didn't protest, just let me fold him back into my arms, but he was too tense to relax, holding himself stiffly so he wasn't leaning into me.

What the fuck was all this about? There was nothing wrong with a little flirting and teasing at the beginning; it just made the whole experience last longer.

'Talk to me, honey? I'm not sure what I said that pissed you off.'

'Oh! I wasn't. I - just,' he took a deep breath, staring intently at the painting on the opposite wall. 'Simon always used to say I was a tease, and he didn't mean it like a compliment.'

'Well, I'm not Simon,' I told him firmly. Damn, I hated the fact that he could even consider comparing to that bastard. 'I love everything you do to me. Everything. I would have thought that was pretty damn obvious. You know, the more I hear about that asshole, the more convinced I am that he was a total loser.'

'I suppose he was.' Quatre sighed, warm breath drifting across my chest. 'No, really, I know he was. I was such an idiot, for staying with him for so long. I was miserable most of the time, really. And now I've met you and I'm so _happy_!'

'I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me,' I smiled at him, loving the answering smile in his eyes. 'Do something for me?'

'Of course!'

'You don't know what it is yet,' I teased, delighted at how soon he agreed. I'd taken something of an unfair advantage; guys are usually willing to do pretty much anything while their cocks are being stroked. 'Wufei said you're really good at the piano. Can you play something for me?'

'_Now_?' He sounded incredulous; not that I could really blame him. He obviously hadn't been expecting that particular request. Still, it was kind of fun keeping him off balance. He was the one who'd come up with the _no sex _rule, after all; it wouldn't hurt him to be on the receiving end for a change. I'd been hovering on the verge of extreme frustration for days now; he could wait for a few minutes.

'What would you like?'

'Let's see. You, naked on the piano, would be just about perfect.'

'I'm not sure if I know that one, actually.' He said it totally seriously, apart from the twinkle in his eye. God, no wonder I was crazy about him! Even if I still couldn't figure out half the things that went on in his head.

'I guess I'll have to teach you then.' I caught his arm as he groped for his clothes. 'Don't, honey. I was serious about the whole naked thing.'

'Don't tell me,' he groaned. 'This is another one of your weird fantasies?'

'As of now, it is. Please? Just humour me.' He hesitated, and I did a little bit more of the between-the-legs persuasion. 'Look at this way. You're already naked. Why bother getting dressed just to go to the other end of the room?'

He bit his lip, possibly finding it hard to summon up any objections given what my hand was currently doing. 'Well, get on with it!' I gave him a light slap on the ass. 'And Quatre. Play something romantic.'

'Fine! I can't believe I'm actually doing this, though!'

He _was _good. Of course, it wasn't easy to appreciate the music fully, not when it was being performed by a gorgeous blond, who'd neglected to put on his clothes. After a few minutes, I decided it was time for a little audience participation.

'Hey, move over.' He shifted obligingly on the stool, leaving just enough room for me to slip beside him. 'Let me play as well, hmmm?'

'I didn't know you played the piano!'

'Oh, I can play all sorts of things. But that wasn't what I meant.' Before he could say anything else, I slipped an arm around his waist, and my fingers between his legs. 'Don't stop playing, honey. Aren't musicians supposed to be able to ignore distractions?'

'Trowa!' He squirmed against me, and I tightened my hold on him.

'Concentrate, Quatre! That note was supposed to be a flat, not a sharp. I thought you were meant to be good at this. I don't think much of your fingering so far.'

'God, Trowa, I can't do this!' It came out as a needy wail, proving just what he thought of _my _fingering abilities.

'No?' I leaned over and stuck my tongue into his ear, loving the way his whole body shuddered. 'You're doing very well. What are the logistics of having sex on a piano stool, do you suppose?'

'Tricky,' he managed, gasping. 'I don't think…'

'No,' I agreed. 'Don't think. Just keep playing. And let me concentrate on what I'm doing, OK?'

He climaxed in a flurry of notes, only some of them off-key, to his infinite credit, at which point the pure, abused piano stool collapsed underneath us.

'Wow,' he was flushed, laughing and unbelievably sexy, lying on the floor underneath me. 'I think the Earth really moved for me that time!'

'I noticed that.' I pulled him on top of me, letting him tuck his head into my shoulder.

'Oh, my God,' he panted. 'I can't believe I did something like that. And my poor stool!'

'I think you need to get a sturdier one,' I teased, slipping one hand down his chest, tweaking a nipple. 'That was a very nice appetiser, I have to say. It's whetted my appetite nicely. Now, what's for the main course?'

'Not yet,' he groaned. 'Please, Trowa. Just give me a few minutes.'

'I was talking about dinner, Quatre,' I informed him sternly. 'Food. Hasn't anyone ever told you have a filthy mind?'


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Thanks to KS for doing her beta thing, and to all the kind people who are still reading and reviewing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 42: Charity Begins at Home.**

Gosh, this is boring.

I detest these high society charity events. Admittedly it's for an excellent cause, but I'm sure that at least of the people here are only present because it gives them a chance to meet Princess Relena, and name drop about it for the next month. Still, the tickets cost a fortune, so they must have raised plenty of money.

After dinner, Relena makes a little speech, thanking everyone for coming and for their generosity, and talks about how the money will be used. What happens next is the high point for most of the guests; a chance to meet the Princess personally and have a little chat with her. I think we should be able to leave after that. Hopefully.

As Relena's escort, I'm expected to stand beside her, and we occasionally get to whisper to each other if there's a lull. Otherwise, it's all rather monotonous, but I can zone out and wonder what Trowa's doing right now. He was planning to spend the evening with Wufei, and help him with Nataku. And hopefully get him to talk a little about Zechs.

I haven't been spending as much time as I should have trying to sort those two out. It's difficult when everything in the universe is conspiring to be remind of Trowa. The music during dinner was the same piece that I played for Trowa the night we broke my piano stool. I still can't believe we did that! The main course was gingered beef, and he loves ginger. For desert, there was tiramisu, and that conjures up memories of our little expedition to the hot springs.

I have officially become obsessed with sex, I'm afraid. Or maybe it's just sex with Trowa. Anyway. I'm definitely obsessed somehow.

'Your highness. It's a true pleasure to meet you.' The voice that breaks into my thoughts is vaguely familiar, as is the man who is bowing politely over Relena's hand.

'Thank you so much for coming, Mr. Khushrenada,' Relena replies. 'And for your extremely generous donation.'

'Not at all, Princess. It is we who should be grateful to you, for all the exemplary work you've done to promote this worthy cause. I wonder now, do you have some literature about the charity's works?'

'Of course.' Relena looks at me. 'There's an information stand in the foyer. Quatre, would you mind?'

Urrgh. I can't exactly refuse point-blank, even if I want to. Instead I lead Mr. Slimeball Khushrenada outside, and hand him a selection of brochures.

'I hope this will be helpful to you. As I'm sure you know, the Sunshine Trust provides holidays for underprivileged children. Last year, they ran a number of summer camps on the coast and ….'

'Shall we stop pretending that I'm remotely interested in those little brats? I'm interested in you. You know, you really should have told me that you were Quatre Winner when we first met. I know your parents slightly; delightful people.'

_Quite. When they're not disinheriting their children for being less than perfect._

I can't help wondering if my parents would be so opposed to me being gay if I had a partner like Treize. Maybe a wealthy boyfriend might make my sexuality more socially acceptable to them?

'I rather thought we might have dinner some evening. I'd like to get to know you better.'

'Will your wife be joining us?'

He just quirks me a nasty, predatory smile. 'Leia and I have a business arrangement. We try not to interfere with each other's small pleasures. It works quite nicely.' He takes the little roll of brochures from me, dropping them on the carpet, and takes my hand instead. 'I must say, you do look better when you're dressed up. How about Wednesday evening? I know a lovely little bistro on the coast. Very discreet.'

'I'm not interested.' I force myself to say it calmly; there are just too many other people around to cause a scene. I do wrench my hand free, though, and from the look on his face he didn't expect I'd be able to do that. 'I happen to have a boyfriend and, apparently unlike you, I take my relationships seriously.'

Not remotely discomfited, his smile broadens, eyes drifting over me in a way that makes my skin prickle. 'Excellent. I always relish a challenge. I do look forward to our next meeting, Quatre. Enjoy the rest of your evening.'

I can't, not after that. It's stupid to be rattled by something so small; after all, it's not the first time I've ever been hit on. And it's not like he could have done anything. I just do _not _like that man.

By Saturday morning I've almost managed to forget the whole incident. After all, I do have Trowa to think about.

Still, I can't help asking Dorothy as we're having breakfast if she knows anything about Treize; she knows everything about the Sanque aristocracy. She's up early for once, as she's planning to spend the weekend at her uncle's estate. I, of course, am spending the weekend with Trowa. Three whole days in his company.

'Of course. I'm surprised you don't know him; you really should read more society papers. He's a partner in the Romefeller Law Firm. A very old family of course, but his father lost most of their money. A little gambling problem. I hear Treize recently got married.' She purses her lips. 'That was rather odd, actually. I always thought he was like you.'

'Like me, how?'

'Well, gay.'

'Oh. I hadn't realised that was my defining characteristic. Why did you think he was gay?'

'I've met him a few times, at my uncle's, and he was never remotely interested in me.'

'That's hardly a sign that a person is gay.'

'But of course it is, silly.' She laughs merrily, shaking back her long shimmering hair. Wonderful; I'll be picking hairs out of my muesli now. I'd love to have even a tiny fraction of her confidence though. 'Why are you asking about Treize?'

'He was at the party on Thursday night. And I met him last week. Remember I helped Duo with a painting job last Saturday? He actually owns the house.'

Dorothy sighs. 'I do wish you wouldn't do things like that. like that. It's so _embarrassing _me that my roommate does that sort of manual labour. And it must have been terribly difficult for Treize to meet his housepainter socially.'

'Oh, I don't think he minded.' I break off a crust of toast and divide it between the two slavering dogs at my feet, making sure Maggie gets the slightly bigger piece. It's not really unfair; Dorothy is always giving Taco treats.

'How was the party anyway?'

'Not very exciting.'

Dorothy nods. 'How typical of Relena to support such a boring charity. No one cares about street children; nasty, scruffy little things. Saving the environment is so much more fashionable these days.'

'I hadn't realised that charities have to be fashionable.'

'Well, of course. That's the whole point. No one would be interested otherwise. Sylvia Noventa is holding a ball in aid of Polar Bears next month, if you'd be interested in buying a ticket? It's going to be so much fun; all the girls are going to wear white.' She slathers butter on another piece of toast; for such a slim girl, she tends to eat her bodyweight at most meals.

'Such a shame she didn't organise to have it a couple of months ago. Then I could have worn my white mink coat. It's so tacky to wear furs in May.'

'You don't think it's tacky to wear fur to an event in favour of animal charities?' Honestly, she's unbelievable sometimes.

She laughs happily. 'Oh, mink aren't animals. They're just furry rats. Vermin. It's good for them to have some sort of purpose. I'll put you down for a ticket then. It's for such a good cause. Poor darling bears.'

'Well, at least you're trying to help,' I console her, noticing that her eyes are looking a little moist. This is why Dorothy and I are friends, really. Every so often, she lets her hard façade slip, and shows how vulnerable she is underneath.

'I suppose.' She takes another massive bite out of her toast. 'It's so sad, though, seeing the poor things dying because their ice is melting. And such a _waste_. All that beautiful fur could make the most wonderful coats. And accessories.'

'Dorothy! That's a terrible thing to say! I suppose you'd make Taco into a coat if you could.'

'Oh, don't be so ridiculous. The poor little thing would hardly even make one glove. Although there might be enough to cover a hair-band.'

Fortunately, the doorbell rings at this point.

'How beautiful!' Dorothy pushes past me to take the huge bouquet of red roses. 'I wonder who sent them to me?'

'No one, unless you're Mr. Quatre Winner,' the delivery man winks at her. 'Looks like you need to keep an eye on your boyfriend, miss.'

'Oh, he's not my boyfriend. He's gay,' she says dismissively, happily announcing my sexuality to the world, scrawling a signature on the man's delivery book and then slamming the door on him. 'Are they really for you? What does the card say?'

'There isn't one.' I slide my hand into the flowers, in case the card has fallen down, and prick my finger on a thorn. Whoever sent them obviously didn't bother to ask for the thorns to be removed.

'How romantic! You've got an admirer! Who do you think it can be?'

'Trowa, of course. My _boyfriend_. Who else would be sending me flowers?'

Dorothy sniffs eloquently. 'Well, his taste seems to have improved since the last bouquet he sent you. That was so scrappy; all those different varieties. These are much more elegant. And expensive. Red roses always cost a fortune.'

'The other flowers all happened to be my favourites! I don't even like red roses. Anyway, I'd better find a vase for them, and then I'd better move. I have to drop Maggie over to Duo's before I collect Trowa.'

I suppose the flowers are beautiful, and as Dorothy pointed out, they must have cost a fortune. Of course, it's lovely of Trowa to send flowers, and it's highly ungrateful of me not to like them. I just preferred the other bouquet, which I know he picked out himself.

'Hey, Quat!' Duo is standing at the front door when I pull up outside, and Maggie squeaks with excitement as she hurls herself up the path to him. I can't help feeling a little bit rejected, to be honest. Does this mean she prefers Duo to me? What if she'd prefer to live here? She gets on well with Shinnie, and Heero works from home so there's usually somebody here.

My dog gives Duo a quick lick and then races back down to me, begging to be picked up. Of course, I'm being silly. She's just being polite and sociable.

'I'm trying to keep the noise level down.' Duo explains, hushing Shinnie and opening the back door to let him outside. 'Heero's still asleep upstairs. I think I tired him out last night.' Duo takes Maggie's basket from me, leaving me to juggle her food, bowls, and a selection of her favourite toys. 'So, how're you feeling? All excited? This is like a honeymoon, isn't it?'

'Does everyone in Sanque know we're going to have sex this weekend?' I ask, wondering just when my personal life became such a spectator sport.

'Sure! It's on the internet and everything!' Duo grins and then looks at me. 'You look great! Are those new jeans?'

'Um, no,' I fidget, trying to hitch them up. 'Zechs made me buy them before Christmas. I've never worn them before; they're a bit too tight, really, and I don't like this very low cut. I'm going to be terrified to bend over. Do you think they look OK? Because I could get changed.'

'They look amazing!' Duo says firmly. 'And, trust me, the HVG is going to _love _it if you bend over in front of him. In fact, you've got to. It would be a nice treat for the guy.'

Unable to think of a suitable retort, I hide my face in Maggie's fur. I have no intention of deliberately bending over in front of Trowa. Although he would probably quite like it.

'Listen, I know you said you were going to go shopping before you picked up Trowa. I've got a few things here for you.' He lugs a large cooler bag into the hall. 'It's just some stuff for dinner. You mightn't feel like going out tonight, and hopefully you'll have the HVG too worn out to cook.'

'Oh, Duo! You didn't need to go to all that trouble!'

'No trouble,' he says easily. 'And it's sort of an apology for Sunday. We didn't mean to get you all rattled about Trowa; just, Heero thought it was better for you to know that there seemed to be something weird going on, and I sort of got carried away.' He taps the carrier bag. 'It's nothing special; just a seafood pie that needs to be heated up. Trowa - _Triton_, I mean - will know what to do.'

'Don't call him that.'

'Why not? It's his real name, isn't it?' he shoots me a smile that manages to be innocent and mischievous at the same time. 'So what are you going to call him in bed then? Trowa's way better for screaming out…all those nice long syllables!'

'Oh, stop it. You know, he sent me flowers again this morning.'

'Wow! He really is pretty damn perfect isn't he. Blooms from Mr. Bloom, heh heh. Hilde must be thrilled to have such a great new customer.'

'They weren't from Hilde's shop, actually. It was a bit strange; he knows I'm not crazy on red roses but that's what he sent.'

Duo shrugs. 'Maybe they were symbolic or something. Don't flowers have meanings? Like, you send red roses to your lover before you deflower them for the first time? Get it?'

'That,' I say severely, 'is really awful. Dire, in fact.'

'You laughed though.'

'I laughed at how pathetic you are. And he knows that I'm not exactly a virgin.'

'Well, it's been - what? A year? That's a pretty long time. You'll have to take it easy the first time or two, you know. Make sure you get plenty of prepping.'

'I do actually remember how to have sex,' I snap, flushed and flustered. Oh dear. I know, I _know_, it's ridiculous to feel nervous about this, but I can't help it.

'Just trying to help, Quat. Lighten up!' Duo's eyes narrow as he stares intently at me. 'You know, I get that you're a bit anxious about all this. That's totally normal. But you want to enjoy this, right? Make sure the HVG goes nice and slow; lots of lovely foreplay to start.' His grin broadens. 'Or maybe you can get him to let you go on top? See how you like that?'

'I don't think so,' I sigh. 'I'm sure Trowa would prefer to go on top. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll like whatever we do.' I just hope Trowa thinks I'm good enough. That's the important thing. Who knows: perhaps I might even enjoy sex with him? 'Have you talked to Heero yet?'

'Yeah, Heero and I talk all the time. That's what couples do. And that was a lame attempt to change the subject.'

'Duo! You know perfectly well what I mean. Look, he's really worried about you. I told you, he thinks he's done something wrong.'

My friend makes an exasperated little _huff _sound. 'You know what was going on with Treize. You know I can't tell him any of that without him totally freaking out. Anyway, it's OK. Howie and I finished up yesterday. I'm never going to see the guy again, so there's no point talking about it. And you don't need to worry about Heero. After I got home last night, I showed him damn well that he's done nothing wrong, and just how much I care for him. All right?'

'I suppose.'

'We're fine, really.' Duo gives me a quick hug. 'And he's booked a holiday for us in two weeks' time so we'll be needing a dog-sitter for while we're gone. Is that OK with you?'

'It's no problem. It'll be lovely having Shinnie back home again. Where did you decide to go?'

'I don't know.' Duo makes a face. 'We spent ages looking up places on line last week, and I couldn't decide, so Heero made the booking as a surprise. God knows where we're going. Probably a hike up Everest or something.'

'That would be wonderful,' I enthuse. 'A chance to do something really unique together. Oh, he was talking about treks to the North Pole last week; I know he'd love to do something like that!'

'The North Pole!' Duo echoes. 'I'd freeze! I hate the cold!' He eyes me narrowly. 'You're shitting me, right? He's told you. You know exactly where we're going!'

I grin at him. 'Oh yes. And it's a surprise.'

'Is it Poland?' he demands. 'Korea? Vietnam? Tell me, you traitor.'

'Oh, no,' I say smugly. 'It's a secret. But I promise, you're going to love it. And, Duo, I think you should tell him about Treize. You don't have to make a big deal out of it, just let Heero know he wasn't at fault. You know how he feels about you; it's been killing him to think that he hurt you somehow.'

'I appreciate you wanting to help. I really do. But stop worrying. Heero and I are cool. I've forgotten about that slime ball already. Seriously, I think I just imagined some of it. It was kind of creepy, the two of us alone in that huge house. And he's married; so it's not like he'd have done anything.'

'He was at the party on Thursday,' I say slowly.

'Relena's charity bash? Did he recognise you?'

'Oh, yes.' I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. 'He said he knew my parents. And then he asked me to dinner next week.'

'_What_? Like on a date? No way! What did you say?'

I shake my head firmly. 'I told him I was in a relationship. He basically said he and his wife had a marriage of convenience, and that he liked a challenge. That he'd see me again.'

'Ick.' Duo shudders. 'God, Quat, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. You only met him because you were doing me a favour.'

'Don't be silly! It's not your fault that he's a total sleaze. Like you said, we'll probably never see him again. It's not like we exactly mix in the same social circles, is it?'

'Yeah, that's true.' Duo brightens. 'And you've got the HVG.'

'Not yet,' I slant him a little smile. 'But almost. Oh, I nearly forgot. I was thinking of inviting some people to dinner some evening next week. Would you and Heero be free on Friday?'

'I think so. I'll just check with Heero and let you know for sure. D'you want us to help with the cooking?'

'That's really kind, but Dorothy's offered to help.'

'Shit! She'll probably try to poison me. I'd better get Heero to bring some antidotes with him, just in case. So who's coming to your party?'

'Just the usual crowd. And I thought I'd ask Trowa's friend Wufei.'

'Aha! Do I sense a little matchmaking? I think you're wasting your time, Quat. Zechs said that things didn't work go well on their date. He was pretty hurt about it. Seriously, I don't get what's wrong with that Wufei guy. He's got the prince of Sanque, who just happens to be blond and gorgeous and incredibly charming, literally drooling over him, and it's not good enough for him? It's not like he's going to do any better, not with that pissy attitude of his.'

'He's just rather confused, I think. He _does _like Zechs; I just gather he's had a bad experience with an ex-boyfriend.'

Duo sniffs; he's incredibly protective of his friends, and I can tell that he hates the idea of Zechs being rejected so summarily. 'Well, he damn well needs to sort himself out then.' His expression has softened a bit though. 'I guess Trowa told you about his other guy, right?'

'A little bit, in confidence. I don't know the details. Really, I just know that Wufei was badly hurt.'

'Been there, done that, huh? I don't know, Quat. There's obviously some sort of chemistry between them, but maybe that's not enough. Zechsy thought it was all going well on Saturday night, and Wufei said out of the blue that he didn't think they should see each other again. Ever.'

'I know.' I sigh. 'I talked to him last night. He said he didn't want to press Wufei, not when he was about to leave the country, so he just let it go. And now Wufei thinks he isn't properly interested.'

Duo rolls his eyes. 'Oh, boy. Like I said, that guy really needs to work out exactly what he does want. I guess the two of us are stuck with trying to hook them up, right? Maxwell and Winner - Matchmakers Incorporated!'

I give him a grateful smile. 'Thanks. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go. I'm supposed to be collecting Trowa at eleven.'

'Sure.' He gives me a quick hug. 'You have a great time, OK? And call me if you need anything. Now, you say goodbye to Maggie, and I'll dump this stuff in your car.'


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam Wing characters.

Note 1: Many thanks to KS for reminding me to undress them.

Note 2: the universe finally gives Trowa a break. Maybe...

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 43:**

'Wow.'

The house at Nova was nothing like I'd expected. By the time we finally reached the end of the mile-long driveway, stopping for Quatre to enter security codes at no less than three sets of electronic gates, I was prepared for some sort of castle.

Instead, it was a long, low, white-washed building, complete with dark blue shutters and colourful window-boxes, glowing in the sun.

'It's great. Nothing like I'd been imagining. It's just like a family house.

'It is really. It belonged to Zechs' mother before she was married. She kept it on as a holiday home. When we were children, we used to come here in the summer, Zechs and Relena and I. Aunt Daisy loved it here; she never really got used to all the protocol of living in the palace.'

'I love how you call Queen Marguerite of Sanque Aunt Daisy.'

He smiled faintly. 'Well, she was almost like a second mother to me. She used to write to me every week when I was sent to school, and she even flew out to a couple of my school concerts.' Which his parents had never bothered to go, I guessed. 'I was devastated when she died.'

'Poor Quatre.' I leaned over and kissed his mouth gently.

'It's OK.' He summoned up a smile for me, and then surprised the hell out of me by sliding into my lap and proceeding to give me a very deep, possessive kiss.

'You know, I'll definitely want to come here again, if this is what I get on arrival.' Sure, we were here to have sex, but it was still a pleasant surprise to have him sprawled over me the minute the car had stopped. I couldn't help wondering if he'd consider it romantic if we had our first time in his car. After all, it did have reclining seats.

'Actually, that was just to thank you for the flowers you sent me.'

Wow, that bunch of flowers was the best investment I'd ever made. 'You don't have to keep thanking me for them, Quatre. I mean, they must be half-dead by now.' I'd have to remember to get him some more after we got home. I'd get that girl, Hilde, to make up some really special arrangement.

He gave me an odd glance. 'Oh. I meant the ones you sent me this morning. The red roses.'

'What? I never sent you any red roses. Duo told me you didn't like them.'

'Really? That's so odd. Someone sent me an enormous bouquet this morning, and I was sure they were from you.'

'Nope. Looks like you've got some sort of secret admirer.'

'Oh! I don't imagine so. It was probably some sort of mistake. Please, don't be jealous Come on. I'm dying to show you around.'

OK, he obviously didn't want to talk about it. Hmm. Not that I was too keen on some anonymous guy sending my boyfriend flowers, but he _was _my boyfriend. He was here, with me. And I'd been the one who got the thank you. Before I'd said anything, he'd already slipped out the car and God, he looked great, standing there in the sunshine. He'd felt pretty damn good, too, pressed against me.

The blue t-shirt exactly matched his eyes, I'd noticed the new jeans already; a bit more fitted than was usual for him, and cut low enough on his hips that when he'd bent over to carry my bag to the car, I'd caught a tantalising glimpse of pale flesh.

_Just show me our bedroom, honey. I'll be happy with that._

Inside was lovely; Quatre gave me a whirlwind tour and just enough time to register gleaming wooden floors, long, comfortable couches, and bits of driftwood and shells everywhere before sweeping me upstairs. He was in one of his hyper moods, talking so fast I wasn't quite catching every word. 'I thought we'd take this bedroom, if it's all right with you?'

Did he think I was going to start quibbling over the interior decorations or something? The room was perfect in that it had a nice, big bed. What more did we need? 'It's fine.' Since he obviously expected more, I added a few comments about the cute little fireplace, and the skylight over the bed, and the balcony overlooking the sea.

'I thought we might go down to the beach for a little while,' he suggested tentatively. 'I'm sure you'd like to stretch your legs a bit and get some fresh air, after sitting in the car for so long.' Right. Walking wasn't quite the exercise I would have personally chosen, but if it was what he wanted….

Still, a stroll in the fresh air might help to calm him down a little bit.

'Why not? I just need to go to the bathroom. See you downstairs in a minute?'

'OK. I have some things I need to put in the refrigerator anyway.'

'Fine. And Quatre?' He paused in the doorway, head tilted to one side. 'Try to relax a little bit, hmm? This is supposed to be fun.'

'Sorry! I think I'm just a little nervous.' _No shit. '_I just want this to be…'

'Perfect,' I supplied. 'I know. It will be. It _is_. The two of us alone in this gorgeous place. I can't think of anything better.'

OK, the two of us naked on the bed - naked any damn place - would be way, way better, but apparently we first had to go through the motions of exploring and admiring the scenery.

'Trowa?' he called from downstairs when I came out of the bathroom. 'Would you mind bringing my jacket down please? It's a little chilly outside. It's in my bag; it should be on top of everything else.'

'No problem.' As soon as I opened his bag, I saw his pale blue fleece. Lying on top of it was an unopened box of condoms. With a little yellow post-it note on top. And the message 'Have fun'.

Well, the sneaky little minx! All that coyness and talk about getting some fresh sea air had been a set up. Brat. For the space of about three seconds, I considered calling his bluff, pretending I hadn't seen the things. Yeah, right. There was no way I'd be able to carry off something like that. It wouldn't be polite anyway. He'd gone to all the trouble of staging this little scene. The least I could do was play along. If Quatre Winner was expecting to come upstairs to find a naked boyfriend ready to satisfy his every whim, then that was what he would get.

'Hey? Quatre? I can't find your jacket anywhere. Can you come up and help me look for it?'

'I'll be up in a sec.' that comment had me grinning to myself, wondering if the _double entendre _was intentional. I was _up _already, in every imaginable sense. 'I was sure I'd packed it,' he was rambling on as he walked upstairs. 'But I was in rather a rush this morning; perhaps I left it out.'

'Or perhaps you didn't think you'd be outside enough to need it?' I quirked a smile at him as he walked into the bedroom. I tossed the box of condoms in the air and caught it. 'Nice way to proposition me, honey! Though I think you're a little over-dressed at the moment, don't you?'

'Trowa!' He was crimson, as I'd pretty much expected, but it seemed to be from more than embarrassment, judging by the way he was glaring at me. 'I know we were planning to - to sleep together here, but I didn't think you'd expect to pounce on me the moment we arrived! Quite frankly, I find it rather disrespectful.'

'Excuse me?' I blinked at him. 'You're the one who started all this, leaving these for me to find along with that suggestive little note. Very cute. But I think you can stop playing the hard to get act now, don't you?'

Yeah, let's just get on with the _playing_.

'I did _not _leave those things for you,' he gasped, affronted. 'Don't you _ever _think of anything but sex? What did you think; that I'd be ready for a quick fuck the minute we got here? Is that the only reason you're here; the only thing you want from me?'

Oh, God. Here we go again. Another of those weird Twilight Zone moments. Hell, maybe the guy _was _on drugs, or had some kind of split personality disorder. Great, Barton. You really know how to pick them.

'These things,' I lobbed the little box over to him, 'were lying on top of your jacket, the jacket you asked me to fetch for me. With the note attached. I sure as hell didn't put them there. So you tell me, Quatre, did they just materialise out of thin air?'

Shit. _Shit_. Why could the universe not give me a freaking break for five minutes? Quatre wasn't saying anything, just staring at the box in his hand like it was filled with radioactive cockroaches.

'What? You've changed your mind about wanting to sleep with me, is that it? Fine, you could just _tell _me, instead of pulling this hissy fit over something that isn't even my fault. Fuck, I'm actually staring to feel sorry for Simon if he had to put up with this crap. No wonder he used to call you a tease if you did this sort of thing to him.'

'I didn't.' He held out the little cardboard box gingerly, 'I think - I think Duo must have put these in my bag for a joke. He carried some things out to my car when I dropped Maggie off with him. This is his writing. I imagine- he never would have thought that you'd open my bag.'

'Brilliant joke,' I said sourly, turning away to look out the window. Damn, ten minutes ago, everything had been fine. Why did everything always have to go so fucking wrong?

'Nice one, Duo.'

'Trowa?' he asked tentatively behind me. 'I'm truly sorry. I just saw what you were holding and I guess I over-reacted.'

'No shit,' I muttered. 'Look, is it so terrible that I want to sleep with you? I was under the impression that we were going to do it anyway. I've gone along with everything you wanted. Don't you think that maybe I should get some say in how things develop as well? Exactly who decided that you were the one who got to call all the shots?'

'I didn't … I didn't think it was like that. We both agreed to wait.' It sounded like he was on the verge of tears; his voice low and tight.

'_You're _the one who wanted to wait,' I said coldly. '_I'm _the one who agreed. Get the facts straight. And no, I didn't mind.' Well, not much. 'You were honest with me from the very start and I respected that. Fine, I went along with whatever you wanted. I assumed we'd be sleeping together this weekend, because that's what you told me. Maybe Duo's little joke backfired, but that's no excuse for the way you reacted. I think you should know by now that I don't just want you for sex. But if that's what you really think, then there's not really any point in us being together, is there? Maybe we should just end it now.'

'No!' he gasped tearfully. 'Trowa, please. I'm so sorry. You're perfectly right, everything you said. I just wasn't expecting…any of this.'

'Any of what? That your boyfriend would want to sleep with you? That at some point this weekend, I'd be naked in this room and holding condoms? Tell me, Quatre. When exactly will the time be right for me to _pounce on you_, as you put it? What are we waiting for now? Darkness? For the stars to be in some special alignment? Were you planning to sacrifice a chicken and read the entrails? Or do you just have every second of today all scheduled the way _you _want? Romantic walk on the beach, dinner; sex by candlelight?'

'No.' Even that one little syllable sounded so sad that I had to turn around and look at him. 'I'm sorry,' he said tearfully. 'I'm sorry for everything. I always get everything wrong. I do want to - to be with you. I just thought that there were a couple of things we needed to talk about before…before anything else happens, and I thought it might be nice to have a walk because I felt really relaxed on the beach with you last weekend and I thought it would be easier to talk outside.'

Right, more talking. Just what we needed. Damn. I just couldn't seem to keep hold of how angry I'd felt though. Not when he looked like that, his beautiful eyes moist and one tear just about to drip off his lashes.

'It's OK,' I said finally, putting an arm around him. 'What do you want to talk about now?'

He lifted his chin, meeting my eyes. 'There are some practical things we need to discuss, don't you think? Positions and - and protection.'

Oh, _those _sort of practical things. Well, I could talk about those.

'Sure.' I sat down on the bed, beside him, my arm around him. 'So you have some kinky position you want to try out with me, is that it? Let me guess, this is more of the bondage stuff, right?'

'No.' He swallowed. 'But we've never even talked about the whole top or bottom thing.'

'What's to talk about? I'm pretty flexible.' I had to laugh at my own pun; he didn't even seem to notice it. 'If you've got some particular preference, then that's fine, but I sort of like swapping around.'

He gaped at me, like I'd said something unbelievable. 'Do you mean…you'd want me to go on top?'

'Well, you don't _have _to or anything. But I like being underneath sometimes, you know. Letting the other guy do all the hard work. Quatre, if you don't want to, then that's fine. Whatever you want.'

OK, this was a sudden turn-around. From yelling at him to holding him close and discussing sexual positions, like it was just about to happen. The rational, reasoned part of my brain, the bit that sometimes sounded like it spoke in Wufei's voice, was saying that maybe this going too fast. That first we should talk about whatever the hell had spooked him so badly. But he was leaning against me, letting me run my hands over that gorgeous ass in its tight denim, and asking if I'd let him top me. The rational part hadn't a hope in hell.

'I've just never done it like that,' he admitted quietly.

'Really? So I'll be your first for that?' He nodded, not looking up, and I kissed the top of his head. 'Then I'll have to make it so good you want to try it again. Now, do we need these little guys?' I tossed the packet of condoms in the air. I wasn't sure if we did need them; he'd been celibate for over a year; I was clean; we'd already had oral sex - a number of times - without using protection. 'Just for the record, I had a full medical when I got back from South America. There hasn't been anyone since I got back.'

Shit, no wonder I was currently obsessed with sex; that was almost ten weeks ago. There just hadn't been time or opportunity during my locum job out in the sticks. Then I'd met Quatre a couple of weeks after I'd settled back in the city. 'I'm totally healthy.'

'Oh, I know you are,' he assured me, blushing again for some reason I couldn't quite fathom. 'I mean…you look perfectly healthy. I'd just prefer us to…be careful. If you don't mind. It's not you I'm thinking about.' He took a deep breath. 'When Simon and I were together, I'd assumed we were exclusive. I was. The day we broke up, he informed me that he'd been with other people when I wasn't around. He said he'd been careful, but I wasn't really able to believe anything he said at that point.'

'Shit, honey. That's awful. I'm so sorry.'

'I think it was the worst fortnight of my life, waiting for the test results to come through. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I had to take time off work; I don't think I could have got through it without Duo and Zechs being there for me.'

Of course, he'd had them; he'd told them. It made me wonder, in that situation, who I would tell, if anyone. It made me envy him for having friends so close there wasn't nothing he couldn't share with them.

'I was fine, luckily. And, well, you know there hasn't been anyone since. I'm sorry, it isn't that I don't trust you. It's just….would you mind if we used these at the start?'

'OK,' I said resolutely, kissing him gently. 'We use these for now. When we get back to the city, we can get a blood test each, just to be totally sure, and once we get the results, we can dump them.'

'Thank you,' he whispered, snuggling against me. 'I'm so sorry about all of this. I know it's pathetic, but I had such a scare.'

'Hey, it's fine. I wish you'd told me before, that's all.' Hell, no wonder he was leery about sex, if his ex had done that to him. 'And stop apologising, 'kay? Or I'll whip your ass.'

'I didn't think you were into that sort of thing,' he gave me a little smile.

'I think you pretty much know what I'm into at this point, and no, it's not SM. Pain's never been much of a turn on for me. Pleasure on the other hand, that's different.'

'Good.'

I started off the kiss as slow and sweet and he was the one who changed it into something else. Something more. God, I loved the way he could go from coolly demure to daring and demanding in the space of two seconds.

'Slow down, honey,' I teased gently, gradually inching his t-shirt up, kissing each inch of warm, newly bared skin. 'Don't you want to light some candles first? Put on some nice soft music? Have a bubble bath?'

'Stop it, Trowa!'

'Really? You're sure about that?' I froze instantly, mouth hovering over a nipple, one hand toying with the first button of his jeans, and the other resting on his hip.

'Stop _teasing _me!' he panted, lifting his hips so I could strip him properly. 'Please. You know what I want.'

Well, well. So this was what a year of pent-up sexual frustration looked like. A delicious blond squirming about in my arms and begging for fulfilment. I could get used to having a boyfriend like this.

'Why don't you spell it out for me, honey? We don't want to have any more little misunderstandings. Not now.'

Not when it looked like we were actually on target.

'I want you to …to…' he hesitated, and for a second I thought he was actually going to say 'to fuck me'. Then he took a deep breath. 'To make love to me. Please, Trowa.'

He had such perfect, perfect manners. Always.

'Just give me a sec.' I had lube thrown into my bag somewhere. I was cursing myself as I rummaged for the damn tube. Stupid, Barton. Why couldn't I have left it on top of my clothes, or even in one of the zipped pockets. Aha, there it was! I didn't want to leave my poor Quatre alone and unfulfilled for too long.

He didn't have any intention of being left that way either, by the looks of it, hanging over the bed to watch me throw everything on the floor and then wrapping himself around me the minute I got back to him.

'Hey, take it easy, OK?' I pushed him gently down on to the mattress, feeling like I was wrestling an amatory blond octopus. 'We're going to do this nice and slow. I promise, you'll thank me later,' I added, when he moaned impatiently.

'I know,' he whispered, leaning back against the pillows and letting his eyes drift shut. 'What - what are you doing?' he asked, a few seconds later, lashes flickering open again to watch me rubbing a good dollop of lube between my palms.

'Watching you. Warming this up a little bit before we use it. Trying to get back a little bit of self control so I can make this last. Is that all right?'

'I think it is, yes.'

'That's good.' OK, Barton. Deep breath. Get this bit over with. 'Quatre, I need you to tell me something. Did Simon ever hurt you? You know what I mean.'

He didn't answer at once and that was answer enough, really. _Shit_. It was something I'd suspected, just a little bit, from the start. I had an ex boyfriend before who'd had a bad experience; he'd been very skittish with me too. It had been hard to tell with Quatre; he seemed naturally to be a little shy. He hadn't really had all that much experience; a few flings when he was a teenager, and one relationship, mostly long distance, that had gone wrong. It was a long time since he'd been with anyone at all.

As he'd started to relax around me, I thought maybe I'd been mistaken. He wasn't like anyone I'd ever been with before; maybe I'd just been reading him wrong.

I'd really, really wanted to believe that.

But I'd seen that look in his eyes a couple of times in the past few minutes, like he was scared of something. Scared of _me, _of what I was about to do to him. And there'd been an edge of desperation to the way he'd touched me, almost like he was psyching himself up to it.

'Quatre?' I prompted gently, as he turned over, hiding his face in the pillow. 'It's all right, love. If anyone ever hurt you, you know it's not your fault, right?'

'Simon didn't, not really.' The words came out muffled. 'Not like you mean. He was just a little rough, sometimes. If he was in a hurry, he wasn't always very careful. He said it was my fault, that I just wasn't responsive enough and that it took too long to get me ready. I - I honestly don't think I'm very good at sex, actually. I'm not sure if I even like it all that much.'

'The bastard.' He actually flinched at my tone. Oh, _fuck_. Brilliant way to handle this, Trowa. 'Hey. Come here.' He didn't actually protest when I gathered him up, but just lay limp in my arms.

'That is just pure bullshit. You're amazing. Remember what I told you on the beach last weekend? Every word was true. You are unbelievably sexy; come on, remember what happened on the piano stool the other night? If that fuckwit said you were frigid or whatever else it was he told you, then he was the one with the problems. I mean that. Of course, you didn't enjoy sex with someone like that! Someone who wasn't didn't even take the trouble to prep you properly. No one would want that.'

He sniffed quietly against my shoulder; I couldn't see the blush, but I could practically feel it radiating against my skin. 'Listen, you've enjoyed the stuff we've done, haven't you? I've made you feel good?'

He ducked his head in a jerky little nod. 'That's all I want, honey. I just want you to enjoy being with me. I'd love to show you the way it _can _be, if you'll let me. When you're ready for that. Or you can go on top to start. Whatever you like. Can you just trust me a little bit, if I swear I won't hurt you?'


	44. Chapter 44

Note: This chapter is dedicated to the two people without whom the story wouldn't exist. Wolfje started it all, innocently enough, by suggesting that Quatre would have a Cairn Terrier, and Kaeru Shisho persuaded me to make it more than a one-shot.

**Chapter 44:**

'OK?' Trowa asks, sliding into bed beside me.

I blow my nose firmly on the huge wad of tissue he's given me, and attempt to pin on a smile. Then I realise there simply isn't any point. I've already been sobbing on his shoulder; it's just a little bit too late to start worrying about the few shreds of dignity that I may have left.

He has been marvellous, not remotely fazed by the fact the way I've been behaving. When I start a feeble apology for all of this, I get a light kiss on the mouth.

'Stop apologising. I told you what I'd do if you kept saying sorry.' One hand gives my bottom a light slap, and then resumes its gentle stroking up my back. 'I'm the one who should be saying that. I said some pretty harsh things, didn't I?'

'I don't blame you.' I sniffle into a tissue. 'I'm going to kill Duo when I get home.'

'Don't do that,' Trowa murmurs. 'I'm sure the condoms will come in useful later.'

'Oh! You mean you still want to - to?'

'Still want to have sex with the hot blond guy who happens to be in bed with me, d'you mean? Oh, _God_, yeah. I still want that.' The kiss is sweetly, gently insistent. I feel unbelievably cherished, welcome in the warmth of his arms. I feel like I could tell him anything.

I don't of course.

I could lie here, quite happily, for the rest of my life, with one of Trowa's hands stroking my back. It's a comforting, soothing gesture. I'm not entirely sure when it becomes - something different; when his hands move a little slower, or when his fingers start a little gentle exploration.

'I guess the next question is, do _you_?'

'I - I don't want you to stop doing that.' I stammer, as his fingers dip just a little deeper.

'That's really good, because I don't either. Let's see, looks like we're going to need this after all.'

'This' is the tube of lubricant, and I think Trowa seems to like this bit. He certainly takes his time applying it. There is a lot of teasing and kissing and not-quite-touching before he actually takes the next step.

'Oh, that feels good,' he gasps, pressing his finger just a little further in. 'Really good. Can you push down a little bit, honey? When I'm pushing in? Ah, that's it,' Trowa bends down to reward me with a kiss. 'Oh, that's perfect. God, you feel incredible. Ready for a little more?'

'Um, I think so.'

'We'll take it really, really slowly.' He withdraws, slowly, very slowly, smiling when my muscles tighten around him. 'Just let me get a little bit more of this.' He squeezes a good dollop of lotion into his palms, rubbing them together.

'I love that you do that.'

'Do what?'

'That you actually warm up the lube before using it.'

He just shrugs, like it's not any big deal. 'It makes it easier to relax. Cold just tenses the muscles. How does that feel?'

'Um, stretchy?'

'That is sort of the point,' Trowa deadpans, managing to make me laugh. I never thought that any of this could actually be funny. Or fun, really. 'I'm not hurting you? Good. I tell you what's really amazing; oil that's been heated up a little bit. We'll have to try that next time.'

'There's going to be a next time?' I ask, arching into the first gentle probe of his finger. Fingers this time.

'Oh, lots of next times. Assuming you want to.'

'Do _you_?' It's hard to frame the question at all coherently, giving the things he is doing to me. 'Trowa, it's so long since I've been with anyone; what if I'm no good?'

'Quatre,' his fingers stop what they were doing, and he shakes his hair back, gazing down at me with both eyes uncovered for once. 'I have you all to myself, naked, in this huge bed. I've been dreaming about this pretty much since I first met you. So you tell me, how the hell can it not possibly be good for me?'

_Oh._

I just want to melt.

'I'm messed up and inexperienced and I'm probably not very responsive and…'

'Not responsive?' He sounds incredulous. 'Winner, I'll damn well show you _not responsive!_'

Nothing he has done so far - nothing that anyone has ever done for me, _ever _- is even a remote preparation for what happens next. Long, slick fingers stroke my prostrate until I'm ready to scream, to explode, to spontaneously combust. Until there is nothing in my entire world but the place inside me that he is touching.

Somewhere, a voice that sounds vaguely like mine is begging for release, and my body is arching up against him, trying desperately to find another point of contact, and then his other hand slips between my legs and I come from the first light stroke of his fingers.

This feels _incredible_. I've never come just from being touched there before.

'There!' He declares smugly. 'Not responsive, my ass.'

'Your ass is pretty responsive, I think,' I say dreamily sliding my arms around his waist and stroking. Simon used to hate me trying to touch him there. Trowa moans satisfactorily and pushes closer against me.

'It is when you do that,' he chuckles. 'So what's next on the agenda? You want to find out just how responsive my ass is?'

'Would you really let me do that to you?' I ask breathlessly, trying to imagine what it would feel like.

'Oh, honey. I wouldn't just _let _you; I'd beg you.' He slides one hand down his chest and touches his erection. 'But I'm warning you, we've got to do something pretty soon or I'll burst.'

I swallow, looking at him. 'Could you …. Could you make love to me first? Please?' It is the biggest gesture of trust I can possibly think of; a tiny apology for having doubted him before.

'Well, since you said 'please', I could probably oblige. Not that I _want _to or anything.' His mouth is quirked into a grin, his eyes on me are utterly serious. He shifts slightly, so he's lying pressed against me, letting him feel his need for me, rigid against my thigh. 'Hey, you've got nothing to be nervous about. You get to lie there and tell me what to do, and bitch at me if I don't do it just right. I'm the one who has to do all the hard work, and who gets kicked out of the bed if I'm not good enough. That's serious pressure.'

'_This _is pressure,' I retort, pressing the palm of my hand between his legs, loving the way that makes him moan.

'Oh, I'll show you pressure, Winner,' he growls, reaching for the condoms.

I've had one long-term, ultimately disastrous relationship, and a few one night stands. Foreplay has always been a somewhat negligible factor in the equation. A mere means to an end.

I've known Trowa for four weeks. Less a day. And it's been one long period of teasing and gathering trust and growing intimacy.

Sharing a bed with him is shatteringly familiar and different, all at the same time. I know the little sound his throat makes when he sweeps across my nipples with his tongue; I know the taste of him. I've already felt his erection jolt against mine.

But there are still so many things I don't know. The way his breath comes in tiny pants as he gently eases inside me, and the way his mouth swoops down to capture mine. The expression on his face - tenderness, desire, need - when he's finally seated, waiting for me to adjust. The soft play of his fingers on my skin as he starts to move.

He is murmuring my name, a slow counterpoint to his body's gathering urgency. It's less gentle now; his fingers are biting into my hips as I buck against him, and his tongue is ravishing my mouth.

There are a few seconds, an infinity, where everything is quite simply _blurred. _And then my world breaks into diamond bright prisms.

When things slowly come back into focus, my thoughts are whirling all over the place. I forgot to light any of the candles I'd brought with me. I finally realise what Duo's been talking about. I want to do it again. I have a slight cramp in my left thigh. I can't believe I've waited twenty four years to feel like this.

I _really _want to do this again.

Trowa lays me carefully back against the pillows, bending down to nuzzle my cock, then licking and kissing his way up to my neck, sucking hard enough to leave a mark.

'Now you've branded me,' I say languorously.

'Mmm. Barton, T. Exclusive property of.'

Oh, this is _wonderful_. Quite unbelievably wonderful. Sex with Simon, even at its best, was inevitably followed by showers - separate - and changing of bedlinen. Trowa doesn't seem to care about wet spots or stickiness, or where the condom he removed has landed.

'Isn't it just?' Trowa agrees.

I hadn't realised I'd said that aloud. Gosh, I wonder what else I've said to him. The lines between what's happening in reality and what's just in my head are clearly still slightly unclear.

'I take it I passed muster then? Good enough for you to want it again?'

'Oh, _yes_. Absolutely! Just … not right this minute.' I snuggle down in his arms, wallowing in warmth and closeness and the rich smell of sex. When my eyes drift close, I don't even fight it. It won't hurt to doze for five minutes….

It's almost dark when I finally wake up, apart from the slight glow from the lamp on Trowa's bedside table.

'I fell asleep.' I blink at Trowa uncertainly and he just smiles. 'I can't believe I fell asleep. What time is it?'

'Almost eleven. Don't worry; we both crashed. How are you feeling? Not too sore?'

'Um…' I lick my lips, which are unaccountably dry. 'Not really. Thirsty more than anything.'

'What can I get you?' Trowa asks instantly. 'Water? Tea? Something stronger? I brought a couple of bottles of wine.'

'There's champagne in the 'fridge. The bottle I won at the paint-balling. I know it's really corny, but I thought it would be nice to drink it together. I think it should be cold enough by now.'

He grins. 'For you, I'll make the sacrifice of drinking champagne that may not ice-cold. And I wouldn't do that for many people.'

'I appreciate that,' I tell him solemnly. 'I really do.'

'I'm glad to hear it.' His tone is equally serious, belied by the twinkle in his eyes. 'Of course, I do have hopes that you're going to make it up to me.'

I pout up at him. 'I _might _consider it. After I've had a drink and maybe a snack.'

'You,' he tells me severely, 'are getting to be very demanding.' He softens the comment with a sweet kiss, and then slides out of bed. 'Don't you dare fall asleep on me, all right? I haven't finished with you yet.'

_Oooh. _

I don't think that I have ever, in all my life, felt this good. I'm not exactly sore, just very conscious of what he did to me. Well, maybe a little sore. I'm still smiling to myself when Trowa comes back up a few minutes later, juggling a bottle, two crystal flutes, a jug of water and a small Tupperware container.

'Your drink, sir. And a small snack.' He winks, setting everything down on his bedside table and pouring us a glass each. 'Getting up early to make desserts for you is becoming a habit. You'd better like this; I was up at five this morning slaving over a hot stove.'

'You made me Tiramisu! Trowa, thank you!' Ignoring the fact that he's holding two brimming glasses, I fling my arms around him, with the inevitable result that there is a certain amount of spillage.

'Clumsy,' he chides gently, bending to lick across my chest. 'Can't waste good champagne now, can we? That would be wrong. Especially considering all the trouble we went to to win it. And this is expensive stuff.'

It's actually quite hard to concentrate as he rambles on about boyfriends with bondage fetishes, as his tongue sweeps broad strokes against my skin. Odd, I'm sure there were only a few drops, and I'm sure none of them went _there_.

'Oh, this is _nice_,' he decides.

'I - I think you've cleaned up it all now.'

'Mmm. Pity.' He takes a long mouthful from his glass and then leans over to kiss me. 'Oh. That tastes almost as good. Wonder how many other ways we could find to drink this? Let's see.'

I catch my breath as his glass tilts deliberately and the cold liquid drips down my skin, followed immediately by the warmth of his tongue. 'Can't waste a drop of this stuff,' he mutters, pushing me back down and licking his way southwards. 'Mmm.'

Champagne, or Trowa, or a combination of the two, obviously proves a very effective aphrodisiac. I can't believe I'm almost hard again, and my boyfriend is doing the most magical things with his mouth.

'Quatre, can I ask you something?' He lifts his head for a minute and I wantonly thrust my hips forward. 'D'you like sixty-nining?'

'Um, I don't know.' Ridiculously, I feel myself blush. 'I've just never tried it that way.'

'Would you like to?' He presses a kiss to the very tip of my arousal. 'It can feel really good.'

'OK.' He could suggest anything, anything at all, at this moment, and I would agree.

'Can you just turn this way a little bit? Yeah, like that.'

'Um, which of us starts? And do I copy what you're doing, or just do what I think you'll like or…?'

'There isn't a rule sheet,' he says gently. 'How about we start off with you copying what I do? But, seriously, you _know _what I like. Feel free to be creative. Just imagine we're playing a duet together if you like. You know the way sometimes it's fun to add a little flourish here and there, or improvise?'

Our duet starts off slowly, it's the first time we've played this particular tune in harmony and it doesn't help that Trowa is murmuring jokes about rhythm and the importance of keeping in time, and how flute players have the best knack for blowing but violinists have better fingering techniques. Trowa comes first, reaching his crescendo with a long, drawn-out quaver of my name, and I finish up with a virtuoso solo performance the ends in my calling out his.

Duo was right; Trowa is a _very _good name to scream in the right circumstances.

'Don't fall asleep on me this time,' he warns. 'We need to clean up a little bit.'

I nod. 'I do feel a little…sticky. And hungry. Starving actually.'

He laughs, handing me a spoonful of tiramisu. 'I forgot all about this, and I had plans for it too. We can save the rest of this for desert. Dinner or shower first?'

'There's a hot tub outside on the deck,' I suggest. 'We could always take our dinner outside and soak and eat at the same time.

'Hot tub sounds nice. Outside…not so good. I'm sort of in favour of us never leaving this bed for the rest of our lives.'

'It's really beautiful outside,' I tell him. 'It's got a view of the sea, and you can hear the waves, and sometimes see falling stars.'

'OK, you've convinced me.' He grins. 'I mean, you convinced the part of me that wasn't already incredibly turned on by the idea of having you in a hot tub with me.'

I slant him a coy, little smile. 'Which part would that have been?'

That earns me a deep kiss. 'Tell you what; when we get into this tub of yours, I'll give you a practical demo. How's that?'

'I think...I think I'll need to eat something first.' It comes out just a little shaky.

'Well, I suppose you do need to keep your strength up,' Trowa muses. 'We don't want you fainting in the tub at the wrong moment.'

'That...would be bad.' I manage, absurdly proud of myself for getting out four coherent, consecutive words. The thought of being in the tub with Trowa, or what he's undoubtedly planning to do to me, has effectively destroyed my few surviving brain cells.

The fact that his tongue is industriously licking me clean, with some little side trips on the way, doesn't help.

I've apparently been reduced to pure sensation, and I just want more of the same.


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: None of the Gundam Wing characters belong to me.

Note: Many thanks to Standingontherooftops for sharing the Bench Horror Story, to KS for the ants, and to both of them for proofing.

**Chapter 45: Nothing Like Fresh Sea Air**

Breakfast on Saturday morning was enough to satisfy even the most die-hard of romantics. I hoped it would be nice enough for Quatre.

As it was exactly four weeks since the first time we'd had brunch, I'd made pancakes, which he'd ordered that day and which seemed symbolic somehow. He'd fed me a carefully prepared forkful and he'd tasted of syrup and strawberries the first time I'd kissed him properly.

I'd laid out our meal under the rose arbour; there was a rustic-looking bench and table, apparently made of interwoven twigs, and the few early roses in bloom were deliciously scented. There was a perfect view of the sea and the crescent curve of white sand.

'Oh, this is so perfect!' Quatre exclaimed, drifting outside.

'Good morning!' He kissed me back enthusiastically, making me reflect that sex was obviously very good for him. He hadn't even bothered to dress properly; just pulled on a pair of shorts. 'Mmm.. You look good enough to eat.'

'For dessert maybe?' he murmured archly. 'You made blueberry pancakes! This is wonderful, Trowa.'

'If you want dessert, you'll have to eat all this first.' I piled his plate with pancakes, cream, syrup and bacon. It was a totally empty threat, of course. But I really had to keep his energy levels up, and feeding him plenty of carbs should achieve that.

'So...did you have any plans for today?'

'Um, I think I _did_, but you melted my brains last night.'

'Well, that just makes you the perfect boyfriend then. An amazing body and no brains to speak of! Ow! That was a joke, Quatre.'

'I'm glad to hear it.' Oh, he could sound stern when he wanted to. Even if the effect was slightly spoiled by the fact that he had a cute little blob of whipped cream on the end of his nose, and his usually immaculate hair was standing every which way. A good look on him, actually.

'Just for that,' he waved the finger that had just jabbed me in the ribs, 'maybe I _can _remember some plans. It would have been nice to watch the sunrise for a start.'

'Bit too late for that.' I poured syrup on my plate, thinking how nice it would be to pour it over my boyfriend instead. Hmm. Definitely an idea to hold in reserve for later. Syrup and cream and Quatre would prove a very effective sugar high. 'It's already after ten.'

'We could take a long walk on the beach before lunch, and then maybe drive into Nova city. There are some excellent restaurants along the harbour, and then we could…'

'Let's amend that a little bit, shall we?' I suggested hastily, before he started detailing 'must see' tourist attractions. 'A walk sounds nice, but later, after I've had another chance to ravish you.'

'More ravishing?' He gaped up at me. 'I think I'd collapse.'

'Well, that would be a good result of ravishing.' I grinned hugely around a mouthful of pancake. 'Don't worry. I'll let you finish your breakfast first. And you were the one who started it in the hot tub, not me.'

'I did not! You were the one who started groping me.'

'You really do have a mind like a sewer, don't you?' I asked sorrowfully. 'I was trying to find the switch to turn on the bubbles. You totally misinterpreted what I was doing.'

'Oh, really? What, you thought I was sitting on it?'

'It was a good a place as any to start, I thought.' I couldn't stop grinning at that particular memory. Some happy combination of hot water, cold champagne and a gently attentive boyfriend had turned my sweetly demure Quatre into a voraciously passionate lover.

I still had the bruises to prove it. Not to mention the place on my shoulder where he'd bitten down in excitement just before climaxing. Or, given that he'd been straddling my lap and bouncing up and down, maybe he'd been desperately trying for any hold that would keep him upright.

Either way, I wasn't complaining.

No way.

'Well, I haven't touched you since last night.' That was a miracle in itself, really. But after we'd hauled ourselves out of the tub and staggered upstairs, we'd both collapsed into bed and slept for nine hours straight.

I dropped another dollop of cream onto his plate. 'Here you go; you need to keep your energy levels up. Don't wantyou expiring on me at any critical moments.'

'Oh, well. I suppose it wouldn't be such a bad way to die.' He beamed up at me. 'Trowa, I'm so _happy_. Thank you!'

'It was a pleasure.' I reached over and squeezed his hand. 'I mean that, you know. Every second of it.'

'It was,' he agreed fervently. God, I loved Quatre Winner in post-orgasmic bliss. It wasn't just the fact that he was still virtually glowing; he just seemed much more comfortable around me. I'd been the first one to wake up, with him cuddled against my chest, and when he'd eventually opened his eyes, he'd just blinked and then graced me with the most radiant smile.

I could get seriously used to him like this. I had every intention of getting him into this condition as often as humanly possible.

'You're so messy.' I licked off the cream, and then fastened my lips to that little place just down from his right earlobe that always reduced him to quivering blond jelly.

It didn't fail this time either; he squirmed delightfully against me as I sucked, leaving a mark that was twin to the one on the other side of his neck. Delicious symmetry.

'I do have to work on Tuesday, you know. I can't go to school covered in love bites.'

'I'm sure you have something with a high collar that you could wear. Or you could always be sick?'

'I could very well be,' he agreed solemnly. 'Too sick and exhausted to move.'

'Well, we'll hope for the best.' I pulled back and gave him a long look. 'You do have some suspicious looking red marks on your skin. It could be an allergy or it could be the start of something contagious. Do you have any other symptoms? Are you feeling weak or fevered anywhere?'

'A little of both,' he admitted.

'Oh dear. That sounds serious. Where exactly is the weakness located? Here? Your skin does feel a little hot.'

'Lower down,' Quatre gasps, writhing against my tongue bathing his nipples. 'No, further down.'

'Ah.' My fingers grazed the waistband of his shorts. Very cute shorts actually. Pale blue cotton with three little buttons. The sort of underwear that cries out to be opened very slowly. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen this time. All those long weeks of celibacy had played merry hell with my stamina.

'I see the problem now.' I let my hand dip southbound. 'There's definite heat here and some swelling. Mmm. Rather a lot of swelling in fact. I wonder what's causing that? Hmmm. Here's another one of those red marks on your hipbone. I wonder, now, could it have been some sort of bite?'

Heh heh. I remembered delivering that particular bite very well; the first time I'd realized just how sensitive he was there.

'Trowa!' It came out as a strangled, needy whine. Very gratifying to know I could have that effect on him with one simple touch. I'd gone along with his sex embargo for long enough; my turn to call the shots now.

'Quatre? Is something wrong?'

'You – you're – oh!'

'Hmmm. Symptoms seem to include incoherency. Honey, you're not having some sort of fit, are you?' Sliding an arm around his waist to keep him in place, I slid off the bench and knelt on the grass in front of him. 'I think I need to investigate this swelling between your legs. Very unusual. Let's see now. Can you spread your legs just a little? Oh yes, that's perfect. Perfect,' I repeated firmly, meaning it. Because he was.

Blowing a little puff of air on to that particular area produced the loveliest little moan, and a very satisfactory jerk of his hips toward me.

'Trowa, please.'

'Patience, sweetheart. Some things shouldn't be rushed.' Some things, of course, should. Some things had to be.

'Can you lift up your hips a little bit? I like your shorts but they're a bit superfluous right now. Oh, that's good. That's _very_ good. Oh, yes, there is definite heat down here. And hardness. Don't worry though; I know the perfect way to eliminate both. Although I'm warning you, this is a condition with no permanent cure. You're going to need regular therapy sessions.'

In answer, my boyfriend, my reserved, proper Quatre gasped a word I hadn't realized he'd known, and grasped my head in surprisingly strong hands, guiding me to where he wanted me. Well, it was where I'd wanted to be anyway, so I was happy to go along with that.

Sucking him off was pure pleasure at any time; the fact that he was holding me down and thrusting up into my mouth lent it an irresistible edge.

When it was over, he slumped down on to my shoulder, and then something cracked and the bench collapsed in a wreckage of broken twigs.

Ooops.

'Quatre? Are you all right? It's the piano stool incident all over again, isn't it? You're really not safe around furniture. I'm already scared of what you'll do to my new bed; probably break the first night we get to sleep in it.'

'Oh, don't make me laugh,' he begged. 'Please. I've got splinters in places where I shouldn't have splinters.'

'Poor baby. Let me help you up.' It probably made me an awful person, that I could enjoy looking at him while he was hurt. But, God, he was worth looking at, sprawled on the ground at my feet. Even more worth it when I pulled him away from the stick devastation on to the grass. A nice thick carpet of grass, actually. Perfect for certain activities. 'If you turn around, I'll see what I can do.'

I grimaced slightly when he obeyed. A couple of long shards of wood had worked their way into his skin. 'Do you know if there's a first aid box in the house? I'd rather do this with a tweezers, and we'll need some sort of antiseptic.'

He nodded. 'It's in the cupboard just inside the kitchen door. '

'OK. Just hang on for a sec. If you stay as still as you can, they can't work themselves in any deeper.'

'Trowa! You can't leave me out here naked! Can't I come inside with you?'

I winked at him. 'That's for later, honey. Don't move a muscle; I promise, I'll be back so soon you won't even notice I've gone.'

'How many splinters are there?' A few minutes later, Quatre twisted his head around to see what I was doing. 'And you'd better not be laughing at me!'

'I'm laughing at a joke I heard on the radio yesterday. And there's just one left. There you go! Does it hurt?'

'Not really. It was the shock more than anything.'

'Another earth moving exercise courtesy of your boyfriend,' I grinned, uncapping the little tube of antiseptic cream. 'Now, hold still.'

'It's cold!'

'So it is.' It was nice watching him squirm as I rubbed the cool lotion onto his skin. Very nice watching his ass squirm.

'You really do have the most gorgeous butt, you know.'

'Trowa!' I wasn't sure if that was prompted by what I'd said, or by where my fingers are applying the cream. 'I didn't have any splinters there!'

'Don't be so sure. Sneaky little things, splinters. They get everywhere. I think I need to check you all over. You really don't want to find that you've got one such a sensitive place, do you? That would be very bad. And you _do_ have a gorgeous ass, while we're on the subject. Inside _and_ out.'

I gave a little twist of my fingers to punctuate the end of the sentence and he jerked backwards so fast he almost head butted me with the back of his skull. So much for that ridiculous notion that he wasn't responsive enough. He was deliciously sensitive to whatever I chose to do, apparently relishing every touch.

'Oh, God.' This time, his head lolled forward. 'I think I'm going to need that sick note after all. I can't imagine that I'll be able to stand upright in two days' time, let alone teach.'

'I'll write you a note,' I promised. 'Hmmm. _Quatre has a suspicious rash which may possibly be contagious and in the circumstances it would be inadvisable for him to mix with children and risk spreading the infection. _

_Furthermore, he was attacked by a feral rustic bench this morning and received no fewer than three splinter wounds to his both buttocks. The resultant injuries will require ongoing and intensive treatment. Quatre should be returning to school in approximately fifteen weeks and three days, provided he responds satisfactorily to medical attention. _D'you think that will do?'

'I – I think so,' he responded a bit weakly. 'What will the treatment involve?'

'In very serious cases like this, the patient requires a great deal of individual attention. Massive doses of affection by a devoted partner can help. And massage is helpful; particularly deep tissue massage of the afflicted area.'

'That feels very….deep,' he gasped, doing another one of those jerks.

'You know, you'd probably feel a lot more comfortable on hands and knees,' I commented, gratified when he obeyed without question, gifting me with the most perfect view of his uplifted, perfect ass. 'Oh, that's lovely. Can you stay like that? I just need to get something.'

'Don't,' he whined. 'Trowa, don't go.'

'I'll be one second, I promise.' I pulled out, and delivered a light smack which made him squeal. 'You're really going to have to learn patience. Now, where did I put Duo's little present? Here it is!'

'You brought a box of condoms down to breakfast?'

'You bet! From now, I'm going to be bringing them everywhere we go. It's very important to practice safe sex, you know,' I added virtuously.

He muttered something that sounded like 'insatiable' and that made me laugh. 'Don't be hypocritical, honey. I seem to remember you ravishing me in that hot tub of yours when all I wanted was to lie there and talk and maybe snuggle a little bit, and you just couldn't keep your hands to yourself.'

'That is not remotely true! I – oh! _Oh_!'

'Yeah, who'd have thought antiseptic would make such a good lubricant? It works quite well, doesn't it? This is incredible, honey. I can't believe you've no idea how amazing you are.'

'That…that feels…'

'Doesn't it just?' I couldn't help grinning; I'd clearly destroyed the very articulate Quatre Winner's ability to form a complete sentence. Yay, Trowa. For someone who'd been so leery about the physical stuff less than twelve hours ago, he hadn't taken long to decide that he did like it after all. I felt just a little bit smug about that. So much for him not enjoying sex!

It made the whole process that much sweeter, knowing what I could accomplish with just a swipe of my tongue or a tweak of my fingers in a certain place.

It really helped when a few repeated jabs against his prostate made him crumple forward, giving me an interesting new angle to aim for. God, we were going to have so much fun trying out different positions.

Assuming we both survived this weekend without expiring from an overload of sheer pleasure. Something that was rapidly becoming a distinct possibility.

It all felt so unbelievably good; the tight clench of him around me, especially when he started to thrust back against me, the feel of his skin under my hands, the little, frantic noises he was making and the pleas to finish, to let him breathe, to keep going - so very indecisive.

Determined when he wanted to be, though, shoving back against me and squeezing.

Once he started that, it was pretty much all over - bar the shouting. And his answering scream as he came, and the collapsing onto each other in a sticky, shuddering, sated heap.

Oh, this was a very nice way to start the day. I'd have to make sure to start every day with a sustaining breakfast of pancakes, or something equally energy-producing. And I'd carry condoms and lube and a blanket everywhere we went in future.

Just in case.

And maybe a first aid kit as well.

He really was amazing though; still squirming against me and making me think that maybe it wasn't too early for round two.

'Trowa!' He pushed me away and struggled to get to his feet. 'Stop that! I think I'm lying on an ants' nest.'

OK, we'd definitely bringing that first aid kit everywhere.


	46. Chapter 46

_Note: Many thanks, as per usual, to KS for proofing and providing the perfect title, and to everyone who has been kind enough to review._

_Quatre's POV:_

_**Chapter 46: Violating the Beach Embargo**_

'_Ants_?' Duo asks incredulously. 'No offence, but that's a pretty weird kink. I know he's an outdoorsy guy and everything but…'

'The ants were accidental! The bench collapsed and I was on the grass, and then…'

'Hey, rewind a sec, will you?' Duo is sounding rather confused. It's been like this for the past ten minutes; both of us interrupting the other. It doesn't help that I'm officially 'taking a shower' and have to whisper into my 'phone over the noise of running water. It doesn't help that I'm still feeling a little … fuzzy. 'I thought you just said you were in the hot tub?'

'Oh, that was the second time. This was after breakfast this morning. I just _told _you.'

Duo whistles. 'Way to go! So how many times did you two actually do it?'

'Um, a few.' It isn't exactly that I've forgotten, more that I think I may have lost the ability to count.

'OK. So you were having breakfast on the bench, right? The one with the roses growing around it? How come it collapsed?'

'Use your imagination!' I snap, and Duo's laugh confirms all my suspicions that he's being deliberately obtuse.

'Aha! That's a pretty sturdy bench, as far as I can remember. When Zechs and I were together, we had meals out there a couple of times.' He snickers. 'It was pretty resilient. You and Trowa must have been very energetic!'

'Well, we were, rather,' I admit, blushing to think of it. Oh, _God_! I don't think I've ever behaved so…wantonly in my life before. Not that Trowa was complaining or anything.

'Nothing like a little healthy exercise in the fresh air,' Duo murmurs. 'So, Quat, everything's OK, then? It was good?'

'_Amazing_, actually,' I say fervently, not sure I have the words to describe just how it was. Intimacy and completion and that final, perfect union. How I somehow lost and found myself in one flooding moment. And, because it's Duo I'm talking to, I don't have to explain.

'Yeah, it's cool, isn't it? I'm really happy for you, you know.'

'I'm happy for me, too,' I tell him giddily. 'It was wonderful. And so much _fun_! I never imagined it could be that good. And then he actually made pancakes for breakfast.'

'Pancakes are nice,' Duo says, obviously not seeing the significance of them.

'We first met exactly four weeks ago! And I had pancakes for brunch at the café for our first date. It was the loveliest gesture, like we were celebrating an anniversary.'

'Oh, I get it now. Sure, that was sweet. So, how come he's not glued to your side right this minute? He's not, is he?'

'He's downstairs. I wanted to take a quick shower and call you. I'd better go in a minute or he'll think I've managed to drown myself.'

'Mmm. And then he might have to break the door down and ravish the hell out of you. For, what, the sixth time in less than twenty four hours?'

'I've no idea. Honestly, I think my brains have liquefied. Is that - normal?'

'You bet. Remember when I finally persuaded Heero to jump on me? When he eventually let me up for air, about a week later, I didn't know my ass from my elbow.' He snickers. 'Lucky Heero never got them confused. It's a _good _thing, Quat! It just means you really like him and the sex is awesome. Just enjoy it! Speaking of which, I think maybe I need to drag my boyfriend upstairs for a refresher course. I'll see you tomorrow, right? Have fun!'

Once he rings off, I scroll quickly through the messages Dorothy's left for me and then call her.

'Quatre! I've been trying to call you since early this morning! Are you all right?'

'I'm sorry; I only checked my 'phone a few minutes ago. I'm fine. Everything is fine.'

'Really?'

'_Really _really. It's OK. You don't have to worry about me. But thanks.'

She snorts rudely at me. 'Can't help it. Is the HVG behaving himself?'

Honestly, does everyone _have _to call him that? He does actually have a name.

'He's treating me like a prince. I promise. Anyway, how are you? You didn't mind staying in the house by yourself last night?'

'Of course not! I thought I heard someone moving around outside and Taco went crazy for a few minutes, but the alarms never went off, and when I went into the garden, there was no sign of anyone but a few of your plants were trampled. It might have been a fox or something.'

'You shouldn't have gone out by yourself! What if there had been an intruder?'

She sniffs dismissively. 'Then I'd have skewered him like a kebab. I captained the fencing team at school, remember? I wasn't going to tell you, except I thought that there might have been a problem with your alarm. You should probably call Heero and mention it.'

'I will. Listen, maybe you shouldn't stay there alone tonight. Just in case there was someone hanging around. Are you there now?'

'I'm at my uncle's for lunch; he's going to send one of the gardeners home with me just to check that everything looks secure. Actually, I'd better go; Taco is trying to eat the butler's trousers and I'm sure they're some horrid synthetic material. The poor darling will get sick. I'll see you tomorrow.'

Oh dear. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I say goodbye. Dorothy tends to have that effect on me. Heero's phone goes straight to voicemail; Duo has obviously got to him first. I leave a quick message, then dress and head downstairs. Hmmm. Thirty five minutes isn't an inordinately long time to spend showering, is it?

Trowa is grinning up at me from the bottom of the stairs. 'So how's Duo?'

'He's fine.' I say it without thinking and then blush. 'Oh! How did you know?'

'Just a wild guess.' His grin broadens. 'I didn't think it would take you that long just to shower. Does he approve?'

I nod, feeling my own mouth stretch in a matching smile. 'Very much.'

'Good.' He pulls me into his arms for a kiss that somehow metamorphoses into a full body affair and leaves me breathless. I'd be dancing for joy if I remotely thought my knees would hold me up. 'Still want to go for a walk? Or we could just walk back upstairs to bed?'

'Just a short walk?' I suggest. 'I'd really like a little bit of fresh air, if you don't mind. But we can do whatever you like.' Part of me is hoping that he'll just drag me upstairs; the other part is thinking that fresh air and exercise - exercise of the non-sexual variety - might restore a few brain cells.

Trowa heaves a theatrical sigh, slinging his small backpack over his shoulder. 'Come on then. You're the boss.'

I am? I hadn't realised that.

'What's in the bag?'

'A few odds and ends that might come in useful. You know, first aid supplies, flares, emergency rations. That sort of thing.'

'Ha ha. _You'll _be needing first aid supplies if you keep that up.'

His eyes sparkle at me. 'But I like keeping things up, honey. Didn't you realise that?'

'Aaagh. I thought Duo was bad for sexual innuendos but you're a million times worse.'

'At least,' he agrees smugly, taking my hand and leading me down the steps to the sand. 'This is lovely. I can't imagine having a house with its own private beach.'

'I know; isn't it marvellous? Now where would you like to go? There's an old lighthouse along the cliff about four miles that way; you can climb to the top and there's the most wonderful view. Or there's a little village the other way, about thirty minutes' walk from here. It's tiny, but it does have a couple of shops and the hotel has a fabulous old-fashioned ice-cream parlour.'

'Ice cream it is,' he says firmly, taking my hand and leading me along the beach. 'We need to eat lunch sometime and we can do the lighthouse tomorrow before we leave.'

'I won't want to leave, you know.'

He squeezes my hand. 'We can always come back. Well, we can probably come back, assuming you don't smash up any more furniture and Zechs refuses to let you stay here any more.'

'You're never going to let that go, are you?' I grumble at him. Well, it is meant to be a grumble; it probably doesn't quite come off. It's hard to sound remotely peeved when you're in one of your favourite places, holding hands with your boyfriend.

'I'm never going to let _you _go,' he parries smoothly, tightening his grip on my hand. 'Even if you are hard on the furniture.'

'I thought you liked having me hard on the furniture?' I murmur. God, I can't believe I just said that.

He bursts out laughing. 'I never even got that! You, honey, are developing a seriously filthy mind.'

'I'm being corrupted by you.'

'Do you like it?' He swings my hand around, pulling me against him. That feels wonderful; not admittedly, as wonderful as if we were both naked, but that isn't really an option right now.

'Oh, I love it. Absolutely.'

'Good. Now, exactly how much have I managed to corrupt you? This much?' One hand settles on my hip, stroking lightly, and the other slides under my waistband, stroking…not quite so lightly. 'I like these jeans, you know,' Trowa purrs. 'I really like them when you bend over in front of me. Mmm. I don't suppose you've reconsidered your sex on the beach embargo?'

'I told you last week; I'll consider it if you bring me somewhere warm. April in Sanque doesn't quite make the grade.'

'Hmm. You say that, but you know, I'm not sure if I quite believe you. I think I could maybe tempt you.' His lips latch on to my ear, sucking gently while his hand slides just a little lower.

'It's too cold.'

'I know some really good ways to warm you up.' He is demonstrating some of those as he speaks. Oh dear. I can feel my resistance crumbling fast, along with any last tattered remnants of will power or self control. Still, maybe I can live without those things.

'No way am I going in the water,' I warn. 'Unless you can find some way to warm it up first.'

'Hmmm.' The hand inside my shorts squeezes gently, and then a little harder. 'How about we stay on dry land?' He drops to his knees on the sand, pulling me with him, ensuring we do remain on _terra firma_.

'I'll get sand in my underwear.' I wriggle at even the thought of that and Trowa flips me underneath him, pinning me down.

'You'll survive. You can just go commando. I kind of like the idea of that.'

'And I'll get sand in my hair.' It's a terribly weak protest this time, though. I'm sure I can live with a little sand. I'm not sure I can survive what Trowa's hands are doing for much longer. At this rate, it will be a miracle if I even survive the weekend.

'I'll wash it out for you. Later. In the hot tub. Actually, I have all kinds of plans for what we're going to do later, in the tub.'

Later…

Right now, I can't even begin to contemplate _later_. Not when I'm totally absorbed with what's happening in the present. Certainly not when Trowa slides off his own jeans and rubs against me.

Ooops, there go my last few brain cells, washed away forever. Oh well….

'Happy now?' I grin up at him. Wow. Duo's never going to believe I let my boyfriend dry hump me like that. Outside. In broad daylight.

'Ecstatic.' He produces a bottle of water and a small packet of wipes from a pocket of his bag. 'See? Told you I was prepared.'

The cleanup operation actually turns out to be fairly erotic in its own right, as does the post-clean up kiss and cuddle. All in all, it's quite a long time before we resume the walk.

I've never not worn underwear before and I'm not sure if I quite like the sensation of denim rubbing against bare skin, especially the more sensitive parts. Trowa, on the other hand, likes it very much indeed and takes every opportunity to slide a hand under my waistband. It's taking us forever to reach the village, and Trowa doesn't even seem to care that we've moved on to the public beach and anyone could see us. Fortunately, it's lunchtime and we have the place to ourselves.

'When we get home, I'm going to burn every pair of underwear you possess,' he teases, pinching my ass hard enough to make me squeal.

'Ow! Can you stop doing that for a second? Please?'

'I can't help it. You're just so gorgeous that I can't keep my hands off you.'

_Oh, Trowa. Please don't say that. _

'I said, _stop_!' I snap at him, jerking away. 'I'm sure I'm supposed to be flattered that you want to keep mauling me, but can you keep your hands to yourself for two seconds?'

Trowa looks like I've physically hit him, taking a couple of steps away from me. 'Quatre. I was just teasing, I thought you were OK with it. I wasn't trying to pressure you into something.'

'_I'm _sorry,' I say miserably. 'I didn't mean it like that. It's…can we just walk for a little while?'

'Fine,' he says curtly. 'Whatever you like.'

Before I can say anything else, he pulls his camera out of his backpack and the rest of the walk is filled with him taking photographs; gulls in flight, the view, a few arty shots of stones and seaweed. He keeps the camera very carefully aimed away from me.

This is terrible. I don't know how to make this better; whether I should try to talk to him, or just leave him alone until he decides he wants to stop ignoring me.

'Where's this hotel you were talking about?' He doesn't even look at me as he asks the question, fiddling with his camera. Of course he's mad with me. Who wouldn't be? I can't even go for a simple walk without making a mess of everything.

Inside, Trowa orders a mocha sundae, and I have my usual Knickerbocker Glory, just because I love the name. And I really need some comfort food to wallow in.

'I'm sorry,' he says a little stiffly, once our ice-creams have been delivered. 'I've been coming on way too strong for you, haven't I? I didn't think you were having a problem with how I was acting and I was obviously wrong. I'll try to slow things down a bit.'

'You don't have to apologise for anything, Trowa. It's me. I- I never meant to imply that you were pressuring me. I'm just - well, all of this is a bit scary for me.' I pick up a spoonful of cherries and cream and lay it back down again.

'You are scared of me?' He sounds appalled, the spoon he's just lifted to his mouth falling down with a clatter.

'_No_! Never. I didn't mean you. I meant _this_. The, um, physical part of it all. It's all new. I never thought it could feel so - so totally amazing. That I could ever feel like this with someone. So it's all new. And overwhelming. And just a little bit scary.'

'Why?' he asks gently.

'_Because _it's all those things. Because, well, it's all happened pretty fast, don't you think?'

'I'm not sure I get you. I know we haven't known each other all that long, but we did talk about this. I mean, you asked me to come down here so we could do this, right?'

'Well, I suppose so.' I say, flustered. 'That's not exactly how I would have put it. It sounds so - practical. It was one of the reasons, yes. But I wanted us to spend time together, to get to know each other better. Not just the physical part.'

'Hey.' He reaches out and smoothes a strand of hair back from my face. 'Honey, what do you think we've been doing since we got here? I'm not just talking about sex. I know that you like to floss and brush your teeth first thing in the morning and that you squeeze the tube from the bottom and put the lid on when you're finished. You put a ridiculous amount of syrup on your pancakes but you never sweeten your tea. You're reading a new auto-biography of Bach and you don't like to use a bookmark. You really like to snuggle in bed.'

I swallow. 'Are they all good things?'

'Very good. Actually, the snuggling is great.' He scoops a spoon of ice-cream and offers it to me. 'In case you haven't picked up on this, honey, I like touching you. A lot. But it doesn't always mean I'm going to jump on you. Sometimes, it's nice just to fool around a bit, you know? It doesn't always have to go anywhere.'

'That's good to know.' I manage a rather weak grin and a dramatically exaggerated sigh of relief. 'I was starting to worry about you having abnormally high levels of stamina.'

'OK. One thing sorted. Now, you tell me something. What freaked you out on the beach so badly? Did you really think I was going to do something you weren't comfortable with?'

'No.' I blink at him. 'It's silly. It was just something you said, about how you couldn't keep your hands off me. It's something that Simon used to say.'

'I see.' His tone is very carefully casual but I could fall into the tender expression in his eyes and wrap myself in it. 'He really hurt you, didn't he?'

'Yes.' I say it simply.

'Are you scared of me ever doing something like that?'

'Not - not physically. Truly, I'm not. This sounds incredibly stupid, but now I'm scared that this - _us _- isn't going to last. And I really love being with you.'

Trowa sighs heavily. 'This conversation's going to get heavy, isn't it? Listen, do you think we can get a drink here? Beer or something?'

'There's a bar through the main door. I don't think they'll mind us buying some drinks and taking them out here. Could I have a glass of cider, please?'

It takes him more than ten minutes to come back; I count every second. I think he needs a little time alone more than anything. Sitting down, he clinks his glass against mine and takes a long swallow of his beer. 'I can't promise you that nothing will ever go wrong between us. That's not realistic. But we can try never to hurt each other deliberately, and to be honest. It's not like I'm not scared as well, Quatre.'

'Of what? You're not scared of the sex!'

Well, if he is, he hides it extremely well. Face the Fear and Do It Anyway!

'Well, no.' He shoots me a sly little grin. 'At least, I'm hoping you'll be gentle with me the first couple of times. No, it's the other stuff that scares the shit out of me. All the things you said, about it being new and overwhelming, I know just what you mean. And yeah, it is fucking scary. Neither of my parents was the best role model for commitment, you know. If a relationship wasn't working just the way the wanted it to go, they just moved on and found someone else. I always used to think it was a pretty good system; seriously, why put all that effort into something when you don't have to? Except some people are worth the effort, aren't they? You are.'

'I'm falling in love with you,' I whisper before I can stop myself. 'I know it's probably too soon to say it to you, but it's true and you said we should always be honest with each other, and - and please don't run away!'

'Why the hell would I run away?' He shakes the hair out of his eyes, looking honestly bemused. 'And it's not too soon. I fell for you the minute I saw you in my surgery, playing with Maggie. You were smiling at what she was doing and I just thought I'd give anything for you to look at me like that.'

_Oh. _

'And…and have I?'

'Quite a few times now, as a matter of fact. And it's always incredible. Like the sun is shining just for me.'

'Really?' I gaze up at him, utterly entranced. It's the most beautiful thing that anyone, ever, has said to me.

'You're doing it now,' he says softly and then his mouth is descending softly on to mine. The kiss dances on my lips, little shimmers and sparkles of pleasure that aren't nearly as sweet as him telling me that he's falling in love with me too.


	47. Chapter 47

Note: As always, many thanks to KS for proofing and to all the wonderful people who have been commenting.

**Chapter 47: Hot Tub Heaven**

I'd never told anyone that I loved them before.

I hadn't meant to. I hadn't really known. Or maybe I just hadn't admitted the 'L' word to myself.

After four weeks, I was starting to live with the fact that Quatre Winner was capable of inducing all sorts of feelings in me. Vertigo, chiefly. Half the time, I felt that I was stepping off a high cliff into the unknown, beckoned on by a bright smile and that incredible blue gaze. Oh, yeah, and all the rest of him.

Luckily, I'd always had a good sense of balance because the guy had such a knack for literally turning my world upside down. Case in point; in the space of one hour, we'd had sex, a row, and then admitted just how badly we'd fallen for each other.

To be totally honest, I still wasn't 100% sure what had pissed him off so much. It seemed to be equal parts of him thinking that I was only after him for sex, and that he was enjoying the sex so much that he was worried about us breaking up.

Go figure.

All in all, it seemed better if I just backed down a little bit. But then he'd probably start to think that I was mad with him or something, if I refused to touch him at all.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to do that anyway. It had been bad enough watching him eat his ice-cream, savouring every mouthful of ice-cream and cream and fruit, and licking his spoon so he wouldn't miss any of the treat.

Just as well he hadn't ordered a Banana Split, or there was no way I could have kept my hands off him.

At one point, I'd got up to get us a couple of drinks. Not that I needed the beer so much as I needed a couple of minutes to myself. The barman had laughed at me when I'd downed my first glass in one gulp and surmised it was girlfriend trouble. His advice had been to apologise, admit I'd been the one at fault and produce a huge bunch of flowers.

I didn't want that sort of relationship.

I wanted someone I could be honest with. So I'd somehow ended up telling him that I was falling in love with them.

After that, things calmed down a little bit. We finished our drinks and bought the weekend papers and a few odds and ends for dinner, and wandered home.

Our walk back home was a lot quieter. Not exactly uncomfortable; more a mutual acknowledgement that we'd done enough serious discussion for a while. Well, that was how I felt anyway, and Quatre seemed happy with it.

I decided that it wasn't a bad time for our first cookery lesson. Something non-sexual that we could do together, and that we could focus on.

It worked too. There was no time for meaningful life discussions while we were putting out the fire on the grill, or picking salad leaves off the ceiling. Apparently, he'd never used a salad spinner before.

'I think this steak is done, Trowa.'

'Why?'

'Well,' he prodded at it with his fork. 'It looks cooked. It's brown.'

'Right, well you need to check it's done in the middle as well. Slide it on to that plate and try cutting a piece off. No, that's too red; it'll need to go under the grill for a bit longer.'

Quatre gave an annoyed little huff. 'It said on the packet that it would be done in ten minutes. It's _been _ten minutes.'

I was starting to see why he had problems cooking. 'That's just a guide, honey. Cooking's not an exact science; you have to use your own judgement a lot.'

'That's utterly ridiculous. There should be rules. How am I supposed to know if something is ready or not?'

I grinned down at him. God, he was cute when he was all confused. 'You know how to eat, don't you? If something tastes like you'd want to eat it, then it's ready. If not, you need to let it cook for a bit longer, or maybe add something to it. Remember we put a bit more black pepper in the potatoes when we tasted them? It's like that. Different people have different tastes, so there aren't any definite guidelines.'

'Oh! Potatoes! I totally forgot. Ick, they're all mushy.'

I peered into the pot. 'That's OK. They have to be mashed anyway. Right, you need to drain them first, like this. You can't just mash them into the water. Now, you want to pour in some cream; wait, not the whole carton! Oh, well, they'll be nice and creamy. And some butter. Perfect. Here you go.'

'What's this for?' He glanced interestedly down at the metal implement I'd just handed him.

'To mash the potatoes. Like this; watch.'

'Oh, I see. Duo uses an electric beater.'

'Yeah, you can do that too. But I kind of like doing it by hand.'

And that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he looked very cute bent over the pot, squishing the potatoes down like they were his mortal enemies. Damn, I should have got him to put it on the floor, then I could have seen him leaning down properly. Oh well, next time.

'Here, try some.'

'That's delicious. Wow! I cooked something. By myself!'

'You did!' Well, more or less. 'Now you can do the cooking for your party next week.'

He looked a bit uncertain at that. 'I could maybe help Dorothy. But she's already offered to do it. And she's done some proper cookery courses.'

Dinner turned out to be very nice. Quatre was glowing with the achievement of having cooked a very edible meal, and planning his next culinary experiment. We talked about food and favourite restaurants and the menu for his dinner party.

All very comfortable and relaxing. Not a word about any of the falling in love stuff.

We stacked the dishes to soak in the sink, and Quatre gave me an expectant little 'what happens now?' look.

'Well,' I announced, 'I don't know about you, but I really fancy another soak in that hot tub. Seems like it would be a really nice place to watch the sunset.' I gave him a quick kiss as I walked past, just grazing the corner of his mouth, and tried not to laugh at the look of incomprehension on his face.

Sorry, Quatre. You wanted me to back off a bit, so I'm not going to sling you over my shoulder and dump you in the tub with me. You'll have to make up your own mind whether to follow.

He did, though it took him a good ten minutes.

He'd undressed, which had to be a good sign, but he'd tied a towel around his hips. Naked underneath, hopefully.

'Hey.' I held out one hand and he dropped the towel - naked, yes! - and slid in, a few inches away from me. 'What kept you? I was starting to think I'd have to go and look for you.'

'I thought maybe you wanted to be alone for a little bit.'

'I did. Then I started to get lonely here by myself.'

'Trowa.' He gave me one of those sidelong little looks from under his lashes. 'Do you think that we could please talk a little bit?'

'Sure.'

'Thank you.' He edged a little closer, still not quite enough to touch. Oh, what the hell? I slung an arm around his shoulders and he burrowed against me. Now, _that _felt nice.

'Quatre. If you want to talk, one of us is actually going to have to say something at some point.'

'I know. It's difficult. I know that what I said earlier hurt you. When we were on the beach and I told you to stop… to stop touching me.'

'To stop mauling you, was what you said exactly.' OK, that came out pretty bitter; maybe more than I'd intended. But, yeah, it had hurt, all of it. The words, and the way he'd flung them at me, and how he'd just jerked away. Until then, I hadn't even realised I'd been doing something wrong. I thought he'd been enjoying it. He'd certainly seemed to be having a good time when went along with my little sex-on-the-beach fantasy.

He nodded, biting his lip. 'I should never have said anything like that. It was horrible. What I said, about Simon, that was true, but it wasn't all of it. I'm honestly not used to being that…obvious in public. I've always been very circumspect, before I met you. It's not that easy to change overnight.'

'OK. I can get that.' I could, too. Not that I'd ever, personally, given a damn what anyone had thought, but Quatre was different. Much more like Wufei in that respect.

'I am trying,' he said seriously. 'I don't want you to have to feel that you can never touch me in public, but I am a little shy about that sort of thing.'

'We'll work it out, honey. I'll try to tone it down, but I need you to tell me when I'm pushing it, and you're starting to feel uncomfortable. I mean that. Don't just leave it 'til the last minute and then shove me away.'

'I won't.' He wriggled a little closer, and somehow ended up in my lap.

'Hey there,' I kissed the top of his head. 'Where did you come from?'

Those beautiful eyes sparkled with mischief. 'I haven't come anywhere yet!'

'Yet,' I echoed, wrapping both arms around him. 'Does that imply there will be coming at some future date?'

'I hope so. Trowa,' he asked softly, 'what are you doing to me?'

'Right now? Holding you. Loving every minute of it, just for the record. Maybe thinking of some stuff it would be fun to try with you. Is all of that acceptable?'

He nodded. 'Of course. But I didn't mean that, not really. When I'm with you, even when I'm _not _with you, you're all I can think about. It's not even thinking, sometimes, it's just imagining, and remembering, and wanting.' His voice trailed off into silence.

'I think about you all the time too, Quatre. What's wrong with that?'

'It's new,' he confessed in a whisper. 'All of this. Half the time, I can't even think properly, especially not when I'm with you. Especially not when - when you're touching me. It's just all too _much_, sometimes.'

'I don't really understand, love.' I pulled him around so I could look at him. 'What's too much? The fact that I touch you? I don't think I could stop doing that. I like it way too much!'

'No!' He shook his head vehemently. 'I don't want you to stop doing that. I couldn't bear it! It's just the way I feel, like I can't think about anything else, and I don't even _want _to, most of the time, and it scares me, Trowa. It's not like me. I think about things, and make plans and reason things out, and I can't _do _that when I'm with you!' It came out almost as a wail, those last few words.

Oh, God.

_Don't laugh, Trowa. He'll kill you. _

'Listen, honey.' I tilted his chin up to look at me. 'Calm down, OK? It's normal to feel like that when you're attracted to someone. At the start, anyway. It's not a bad thing. If you meet someone, and you like them, then of course you want to be with them. It's very, very flattering that you feel like that about me, and I feel exactly the same.' I dropped a kiss on his gorgeous, tense mouth.

'I've never felt like this before. Not with anyone. Ever.'

'I think maybe it's all a bit intense for you because you haven't been with anyone for a while, and your last relationship didn't work out,' I said carefully, and he granted me a tight little nod.

'What can I do about it? It isn't funny!'

'No. No, of course it's not.' OK, that wasn't entirely true. 'But why do you want to do anything about it? Just enjoy it.'

'But…weren't you _listening_? When I'm with you, it's like all of my brain cells have dissolved!'

I shrugged. 'What's wrong with that? Sometimes, you just have to let go, Quatre. Just go with how you're feeling and not worry about what you should be thinking. Give your mind a little break and let your body take over.'

'I suppose.' He started to worry at his bottom lip with his teeth. God, it was so cute when he did that. I wanted to do that; to nip at his beautiful mouth and then kiss the hell out of him.

'You know, you said last week that you needed to relax a bit more, and stop planning things so much?' He nodded. 'Well, this is one way to do that.' I tapped his forehead. 'Sometimes, when I'm with you, I can almost hear the gears shifting inside your head. It must get really tiring; maybe you need to stop concentrating _so _much on figuring out every single thing in your life, and go with how you feel?'

'Like yoga, you mean? Or meditation?'

OK, having a fit of hysterics in a hot tub of water with my boyfriend clinging to me probably wouldn't be the best idea. But, God, he could overthink relaxation like no one I'd ever met. I liked being the one who could dissolve his control freakiness, though.

'That wasn't exactly what I meant. Look, I honestly don't think it's something you need to worry about. I mean, you're on my lap, we're both naked, and you're managing to be fairly articulate. It's almost an insult, from my perspective, just how unaware of me you seem to be.'

'I'm not!' He shook his head vehemently. 'I am trying so hard to concentrate on what I want to say to you and it isn't easy!'

'Hard, is it?' I tugged him closer, checking out just how hard it was. Oh, that was perfectly satisfactory. 'So, honey, given the mutual nakedness and the proximity, and all these lovely bubbles in the water, does that mean it's hard for you to think about other stuff? You mean, you don't want to discuss climate change or the next election or something?'

'You,' he grumbled, wrapping his legs around me nonetheless, 'are not helping at all.'

'I don't want to help! I love that you have this particular problem, that you can't stop thinking about me, and wanting to be with me, and when you are with me, that you can't think straight. I'm loving every minute of it.'

He gave me what was obviously his best attempt at a Heero-style glare. He didn't nearly pull it off.

'You could stop looking so insufferably pleased with yourself for one second!'

'Nope,' I informed him amiably. 'I couldn't. I'm thrilled with the effect I seem to have on you!'

He snorted. 'You don't have to look like the cat that got all the cream, and a whole cage-ful of canaries as well!'

'But I did get the cream, remember?' I grinned at him, and laughed when he blushed.

'You,' he said sternly, 'are utterly obsessed with sex. Utterly.'

'Your problem being?' I shot back, settling him more comfortably across my thighs. Oh, that felt good. 'Seriously, honey, I can't believe you're worrying about this. Now, if you weren't attracted to me, then we'd both have a problem.'

'I suppose,' he murmured, winding both arms around my neck and snuggling in. 'Trowa, have you felt like this about anyone before?'

'The physical bit, sure. Sorry, but it's true. The other stuff? No. I have you on my mind all the time as well. Do you have any idea how many prescription sheets I've had to throw out because I've doodled your name on them? Whatever I'm doing, I'm imagining what it would be like if you were there with me. Even stupid stuff like watching TV or doing laundry. That's all new. I think we'll both have to accept that it's new territory and just get on with it.'

'I'm glad it's not just me.'

'Oh, it's not just you. It's not a _bad _thing. Really. Yeah, it's a bit confusing, but you seem to be functioning pretty well for someone who's had his brain cells dissolved. Actually, I'll tell you what probably would help with that?'

'Really? What?' He was all eagerness, gazing up at me.

'Well, you know they say that practice makes perfect? So maybe if you get used to the whole sensual overload thing, you'll be able to live with it and it won't be such a big deal.'

Blush deliciously in place, he gaped up at me. 'What?'

'Oh, you don't have to thank me. It'll be tough and all, but I'm willing to be there for you whenever you feel the need to get physical. If we do it often enough, it'll start to feel normal.'

'Hmmm. What if it has the opposite effect? What if I become even more addicted?'

'Yeah. That could be a real problem, all right. But I'm willing to take the chance. If you are?'

'Could we start now?' The words were blatant enough, but not nearly so much as what he was doing with his hips, thrusting against me.

'This second. I suppose we could do that. Just let me get a couple of things.' I groped behind me

'Trowa! Did you plan all this?'

'Me? No way! I think you were the one who left them there last night.' Thank God for whoever invented waterproof lubricant. It still wasn't easy getting him ready; trying to hold a squirming, slippery, over-excited blond in one place is always a challenge. I managed though.

He seemed to be right about the sort of effect I had on him. I was feeling pretty pleased about that, watching the way his eyes glazed over and feeling him hump against my fingers.

'How d'you want it, honey?' I asked softly.

'I'm not sure I - oh! Oooooh! - what do you mean?'

'You want me to keep to nice and slow, or speed things up a little bit for a change?'

'I don't - oh, God! Oh, Trowa! That's just..don't stop! Oh, God!'

Hmm. Maybe he'd had a point earlier. Taking that babbling to mean that 'nice and slow' wasn't the preferred option this time, I just arched straight into him, and listened to him scream. Yep, he'd definitely lost any form of control or coherency. Excellent.

Actually, it wasn't easy for me to hold on to either of those desirable qualities either. Not with a gasping, groaning guy letting me know just how much pleasure I was giving him, and those perfect legs locked around my waist, and his mouth opening to suck in my tongue.

At the end, the poor guy didn't even have enough brainpower left to stay upright, collapsing into the water when I pulled out and needing to be hauled back up to my lap.

'How was that, Quatre?' I kissed his soggy blond hair, remembering that I'd promised to wash if for him at some point. I'd forgotten to bring any shampoo down from our bathroom. Still, we could always take a shower together, or no, maybe not. He'd probably end up cracking his skull against something.

'Oh, shit.'

'Uhh?' He peered groggily up at me.

'We totally forgot about the sunset.'


	48. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: The GW characters do not belong to me.

Note: Thanks, as per usual, to KS, and all the reviewers.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 48:**

'So I'm guessing everything went well?' Duo asks brightly. 'Seeing as how you have this massive smile on your face and all?'

'It was incredible.' I've been back home for almost twenty four hours now, and I still haven't managed to stop smiling after the most perfect trip ever. Not that I really want to. 'Totally perfect. We went for walks on the beach, and just lazed around, and we even cooked last night.'

'What?' Duo's eyebrows waggle at me. 'Sorry, Quat, for a second there I thought you said that you'd _cooked_.' Maggie and Shin, sprawled at our feet in Duo and Heero's garden, look up enquiringly.

'We did,' I tell him proudly. 'Well, I did really, but he showed me what to do. I made steak and mashed potatoes, and I _nearly _made ratatouille, but it went wrong somehow. I don't think I was supposed to put in so much treacle.'

'Wow. And neither of you got food poisoning? Or is the poor guy in a hospital somewhere?'

'No, he is not. He's at work this evening 'til eight, though. He was asked to stay on for a couple of hours because one of the other vets was called out to an emergency.'

'Well, you'll be seeing him soon then. And in the middle of all this walking and cooking and stuff, did you find time for any other activities?'

'We did, actually, yes.' I'm very proud that I manage to hold his gaze without even blushing. 'Rather a lot of time.'

'And?' He does his eyebrow waggling trick again. 'Did you get to try out any interesting new positions or anything? Something you need to share with your best buddy?'

'I have no intention of sharing that sort of thing! Um, we did lots of things, but not what you're talking about. Not yet.'

'Ah, I get you. Saving it for the new bed, right?'

Drat. I should never have told him about the new bed. Or that Trowa has intimated that our first time in it might be a good time for a little role reversal. 'I'm not sure. Maybe.'

He nods, scooping Maggie up and pulling her ears gently. Shinnie moves over to my side, looking for his own share of the attention. Especially if there may be biscuits involved.

'So, Trowa's done it both ways, right?'

I nod. 'Oh, yes. He says he likes being the bottom sometimes. He was really sweet about it, Duo. He said he was happy with whatever I wanted, but that he liked swapping around sometimes, but that he'd try to make it really good if I decided I wanted to try it.'

Duo gives a long whistle, making both dogs raise their heads to look at him. 'He really is pretty damn perfect, isn't he? I should send Heero to talk to him sometime about the whole swapping thing. He way prefers being on top. Still, he is damn good at it; maybe you should be talking to him instead of me. So what have you decided?'

'I'm not sure. I'd quite like to try, but I suppose I'm a bit scared that I'll hurt him, or that I won't be any good at it, or I don't know, that maybe I'll hate it.'

'OK.' Duo sets Maggie down and pulls his chair closer to me. 'Time for a little sex ed, I think. First off, you won't hate it. I can promise you that. And don't stress too much about hurting him. He's done it before and he's liked it, so it's not as if he's going to act like some terrified virgin. Well, not unless he's seriously into role playing and he probably won't do that for your first time. Just take it slow and use loads of lube.'

I nod, scarlet. How do we always end up having these incredibly embarrassing discussions?

'As for making it good for him, well, there's going to be two of you there. He's the experienced one, Quat. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you what he likes. You should guess anyway, just watching how he reacts to what you're doing. Loads of prepping, like I said, and you can distract him by sucking him off if you want. Positions, well, you're such a soppy romantic you'll probably want to do it face to face and gaze into each other's eyes, even thought it's probably not the best way for your first time, just 'cause the angle is…'

'Duo! Please, just stop. I don't think that I can't take any more of this.'

He bursts out laughing. 'Oh, yeah? Say that to Trowa, do you? Bet he loves that!'

'I know you're trying to help,' I tell him after several deep, calming breaths. 'Seriously, did you swallow the gay _Kama Sutra _or something?'

'That would be Heero. There are some benefits to him having a photographic memory, and you know what he's like for researching stuff before he does it.'

'I know. But I do actually _know _the mechanics of how to have sex. Honestly. I'm just a little bit nervous and you're not really helping.'

'OK.' He leans over and gives me a brief hug. 'There is absolutely nothing to be nervous about. It's fun! Actually, it's way better than just fun. You're going to love it, and Trowa's so freaking crazy about you that he'll love anything you do. You do know that, don't you?'

'Yes. I do.' I can feel the smile widening across my face, remembering the weekend. He _is _crazy about me.

'And you feel the same way about him?'

'Very much so. Duo, I can't believe the way I feel about him sometimes. I can't stop thinking about him most of the time, I keep imagining being with him, and I just want to be with him all the time. Is that really weird?'

'Totally normal for when you fall in love with someone.' He watches my face closely. 'Has either of you used the L word yet or are you still dancing around it?'

'We've said it. I told him that I was falling in love with him, and then he said it too. And he said some amazingly romantic things about me as well. And it's wonderful! Totally wonderful.'

'I'm so happy for you, you know that? That you've found someone who can make you smile like that.'

'I'm happy too,' I say giddily and glance at the kitchen clock. If I leave in twenty minutes, I should get to Trowa's at about the same time as him.

It's true that I'm a little nervous about what might happen next, but it's rather a nice nervousness. After all, I don't have to do anything I don't want. I know that.

'Well, that's you sorted,' Duo says briskly. 'Although you're going to have to work on his taste in flowers a little bit. Let him know you don't like red roses so much.'

'Oh, that. Actually, they weren't from him. Duo, you didn't send them, did you?'

'Me? No way! Why would I send you flowers?'

'I don't know. Some sort of joke? I got that other little gift you sneaked into my bag, and thought maybe you'd sent the roses.'

'Nope, not me. Looks like you've got a secret admirer.'

'I'm not sure how secret it is,' I admit. 'I think I know. I didn't actually notice at the time, but I'm not sure if they even came from a real flower shop. There wasn't a card, and they were delivered by a courier, not a florist's van. And, well, I just thought of the last time I've been somewhere and seen so many roses in a garden.'

'Oh, shit.' I can see by the look in Duo's eyes that he's thinking the same thing as me. '_Shit_. I should never have brought you to that slimeball's house. Then you'd never have met him, and this wouldn't be happening.'

'Stop that. I met him last week at Relena's party, if you remember. And it's not really a big deal. I have a boyfriend, I'm not remotely interested in being with anyone else. Anyway, what are the odds of me ever seeing him again? I'm certainly not going to worry about it.'

I'm far too happy to worry about anything.

'You've finished the house, haven't you?' He nods. 'How was it?'

'OK, I guess.' He doesn't look terribly happy though. 'He gave us both a bonus, and he said that he was really satisfied with the service I'd provided, and he'd be sure to contact me again if he needed anything. It was kind of creepy actually; he was saying all this shit while Howard was packing up in the next room, and he was just looking at me like all he had to do was snap his fingers and I'd bend over for him. Pervy bastard.' He shudders slightly and then grins. 'Yeah, right. He never even sent me flowers. I'm not _that _easy. Listen, Quat, you'd better go. Don't wait to keep Trowa waiting, do you? Must be time to top up that 'just had sex' glow of yours.'

'High time, probably.' I stand up, bending to kiss Maggie's head. 'You're quite sure you don't mind keeping her for tonight?'

''Course not. You go and have fun. And if you're interested, Heero is working from home tomorrow, so there's no rush to pick her up.'

'You know I have to go to work.'

'Oh, be a devil. It wouldn't kill you to pull a sickie for once in your life. I mean, wouldn't you rather have the HVG naked on this giant bed you told me about than teach a gang of kids how to play scales? I'll even let you off our movie night tomorrow if you swear to tell me all about it.'

Oh, that's so tempting. 'I'm not sure. I'll have to ask Trowa. He might not want to take another day off.'

Duo rolls his eyes vigorously. 'Get real, Winner. If you don't know how to keep a guy in bed with you, then it's high time you learned. Trust me, if you so much as hint about taking tomorrow off, Trowa will probably have you tied to the bed and the front door locked and bolted so you can't change your mind. He's seriously into you. Now, we just need to work on Wufei and Zechs to get happy endings all 'round. Wufei's coming to this party on Friday, right?'

'He called me this morning to say he would, yes.'

'And he knows that Zechs is going to be there, too?'

'I didn't say so specifically, no, but I told him I was asking a few close friends. I'm sure he can work out that Zechs will be there.'

'Cool.' He frowns slightly. 'Have you spoken to Zechs since you got back? Is he trying to play hard to get or something? Why doesn't he just 'phone Wufei? He is still interested, right?'

'Oh, he is. He called me last night. He said he didn't want to push anything when he knew he was going to be abroad for the next couple of weeks. But apparently they've been emailing each other and getting on quite well.'

I think Duo has become more interested in getting these two together than I have; although it's not easy to think about anything that doesn't involve Trowa.

He isn't home when I get there, although there is a short text on my 'phone to say that he was delayed slightly but he's on his way. Wonderful. Another delay. All I want to do is see him and the universe seems to be determined to frustrate me.

'Hey, honey!' Trowa raps on the car window and opens my door. 'It's so good to see you.'

'You too.' I'm not quite comfortable enough to kiss him in the middle of the street, but I squeeze his hand as I slide out. 'I've really missed you. Do you realise it's been almost twenty four hours since you dropped me home last night? I couldn't concentrate on anything all day. A couple of people at school even asked me if I felt all right.'

'What did you tell them?' he asks, taking my hand and pulling me up the path.

I give him a demure little smile, standing back to let him open the front door. 'I said that I thought maybe I'd picked up something over the weekend. I think if I called in sick tomorrow, no one would be too surprised.'

'Quatre Winner! I'm surprised at you; a conscientious school teacher suggesting something like that.'

'I'm not saying you have to do the same or anything.' It's a little hard to tell whether or not he's joking, especially since I know how dedicated he is to his job. 'I just thought it might be…it doesn't matter.'

'I'm teasing, honey. That's all. I think that's a brilliant idea. If you're sick, then I'll have to stay home and take care of you. Make up for all the overtime I've been working lately.' He gives me a quick peck on the lips. 'I'm sorry you had to wait for me. Actually, I have something for you. Here.' He digs one hand into his pocket and produces a key. 'I can't have a cute blond guy hanging around outside all the time. The neighbours will start to talk.'

'Are you sure?'

He nods. 'Very sure. I know it's probably a bit soon to talk about sharing a place, but I hope you're going to be spending a lot of time here so it makes sense that you can let yourself in and out. Is that OK?'

'Yes! If we have time tomorrow, I can get a key cut as well for you. And show you my scary alarm system.'

'There's no rush. I'm not sure if we'll have time for anything tomorrow, that involves leaving my bedroom.'

'I like the sound of that.'

'Thought you might,' he grins down at me. 'Now, have you eaten dinner yet?'

I shake my head, suddenly realising the brown carrier bag in his hands is radiating the most delicious smells. Maybe it would be better to eat before anything else. 'Not yet. I had a late lunch and I thought I'd wait to see what you wanted to do.'

'Perfect. I stopped off at Lek's and got loads of food.' He holds up the bag and then drops it on the table. 'Now, how's this for a plan? I really need to take a quick shower, five minutes max, then we can eat and see where things go from there. That OK?'

'Actually, I'm not crazy about one or two elements of it,' I say coolly. 'First, I'd like a kiss before anything else, and second, I don't see why we can't share the shower. I could scrub your back if you like.'

Trowa, who's already heading for the bathroom, whirls back to look at me. He is totally, utterly gorgeous, my boyfriend. That dark, ivy-green sweater is a shade or two darker than his eyes, and his jeans are just perfect. Well, they'd be more perfect off him, admittedly, but I love the way they cling to his ass. Ooooh.

_Breathe, Quatre._

I shouldn't be having those sorts of inappropriate thoughts.

Or, well, in the circumstances, maybe I should. He is my boyfriend, we're going to have sex in the fairly immediate future, so it's only appropriate to notice his…assets, surely.

'You,' he says, advancing on me and pinning me against the wall, 'are turning into one hell of a demanding guy. I remember you being all sweet and shy and now look at you. I love it.'

'I love you.' I whisper, gazing into his eyes. They're so beautiful; a deep ocean-green flecked with tiny sparks of gold and amber.

'It's going to be like this, is it? First you order me around and then you think that you can soften me up with all this lovey-dovey stuff.'

'I don't think….there's a lot of softening going on.' I can just lift one knee and rub it between his thighs. 'Nothing soft at all actually.'

'No?' Trowa teases. 'Does that mean that you want the kiss to be hard, too?'

His mouth is mesmerising me as he talks. I just want to feel it on mine. 'Trowa, please. Just kiss me.'

And he does. Just before grabbing me and throwing me over his shoulder.

'What are you doing?'

'Obeying orders,' he says blandly. 'You said you wanted a shower. I'm going to give you one.'

'Not in my clothes! Trowa, please!'

'Idiot.' Trowa, who seems to have developed a fondness for pressing me against solid surfaces, shoves me against the bathroom wall, and kisses me again. 'Do you really think I'd pass on the chance to get you naked with me?'

'Oh. That's all right then,' I say dazedly. 'I think. Isn't it?'

He bursts out laughing. 'Have I done it again? Made you lose all those lovely coherent speech patterns you're so fond of?'

'Um.' It's impossible to think of anything, really, with Trowa pulling down my jeans with one hand, and fondling between my legs with the other.

'Oh, yeah,' he says smugly. 'Earth to Quatre, can you read me? Here's the new plan, honey. I'm going to make you all messy and sticky and then take you into the shower to clean off, where it won't matter so much if I make you all messy again, and then I might possibly feed you, just to keep your strength up for later, and then I'm taking you to bed. That OK with you?'

I just about manage a nod. I may not have control over my thoughts or my speech, but I am still capable of moving my head slightly.

'Thought so.'


	49. Chapter 49

-1Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing.

Note: Many thanks to KS for the last line. Very cute! I can't believe this one actually let me post it, since it's been so allergic to any technology so far….

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 49:**

After we'd showered, and then taken another shower to wash off the first shower, the food had to be reheated. I was also going to have to look into installing a bigger water heater.

Wufei had generously said that I could hold on to the futon, which I'd moved into the living room to make space for the bed, so we settled on that, Quatre leaning back against me with the plate on his lap. This was perfect, the stuff dreams were made of. It was a good dream; the idea this could become a regular thing. Something I could look forward to coming home to.

I'd filched a couple of scented candles from the surgery - one of the nurses had bought a box to cover up the smell of disinfectant in the waiting room - so the room looked all romantic and smelled of cinnamon. Quatre smelled great too; snuggled close enough for e to smell the shower gel he'd used, and I was wondering if I could wait until we actually got into the bedroom for round three.

'Mmmm. This is so good.'

'The food is really good too,' Quatre informed me, all demure, downcast lashes and dancing eyes.

'Isn't it just?' God, he was totally adorable like this. Sated and relaxed and just a little bit naughty, hand-feeding me bits of rice and chicken and then licking the sauce off his fingers. If this kept up, no way would I be able to hold out 'til we got to the bedroom, new bed or not. Still, we had all night and all the next day. There wasn't any hurry.

Even the 'phone ringing wasn't enough to disturb the mood. Not until it clicked into the answer machine and I heard my best friend yelling at me.

'Trowa. Pick up. This is important,' Wufei shouted into the room. 'If you're there, I seriously need to talk to you.'

Shit. I was going to have to answer or he'd just keep ranting. Untangling myself from Quatre, I stood up and picked up the damn thing.

'What's wrong? It better be important. I've got Quatre here and we're sort of in the middle of something.'

'You were together for the last three days,' he sniffed. 'I would have thought you'd had enough of each other at this point.'

'Oddly enough, no.' I grinned over at Quatre who was sucking up noodles in the most lascivious manner imaginable. 'I don't think I can ever get enough of him. Now, what's the problem?'

'I've just had a telephone call from my grandmother. One of my idiot cousins told her about the dog show that's taking place on Sunday, and she wants me to enter Nataku. Apparently there is a special class for oriental breeds, and Mrs. Lek is entering her Tibetan Terrier. Do you remember how those two are always trying to outdo one another?'

I groaned. 'I remember you getting into trouble at home because one of the Lek granddaughters got a better result than you in a test.'

'Exactly. They're constantly trying to get one up on the other. It's ridiculous.'

Yeah, and he's not remotely competitive or anything.

'You know what Nataku's like, Trowa. I can't possibly enter her in a pet show. She'll bite the judge and attack the other dogs and Heaven knows what else. I'll probably end up getting arrested for bringing a vicious dog into a public place. I only have a couple of days and I need you to help me with training her.'

'Why don't you ask Zechs to handle her for you in the show? She got on really well with him last time.'

'He's in Paris for the next two weeks. Anyway, I couldn't presume on his kindness again.'

'He's coming home for the weekend, isn't he? Quatre said he's invited to the dinner party on Friday.'

'What?' he demanded. 'I specifically told Quatre that I didn't want him meddling in any of this.'

'Yeah, good luck with that one. He's not great at doing what he's told.' I winked over at my cute little blond and he made a face. 'Anyway, I don't get why it's a big deal. You told Zechs you're not interested in him; end of story. It doesn't mean you can't have dinner together in the same house. It might work out well, actually; you can ask him about the dog show without contacting him out of the blue.'

'I suppose you're right,' he sighed gustily. 'The show is on Sunday though; it seems rather late notice to ask him on Friday evening. I could email him, but that looks like I've found a truly pathetic excuse to get in touch.'

'How come you have his email address?'

'He told me he was planning to visit an exhibition of antique Chinese weaponry at the Louvre. I was interested, and he offered to mail me some photographs, which he did. He is actually quite knowledgeable about oriental history and culture.' He said the last bit almost grudgingly.

'Is he? Listen, I think Quatre wants to have a word with you.' Well, I thought that was what the bouncing around and gesturing meant. 'I'll put him on for a second.'

'Wufei? I'm so sorry for all of this.' Quatre had his most innocent expression firmly in place. 'I hadn't originally planned to invite Zechs, but then he told me he was coming home this weekend anyway and he knew I was planning a party. If it's too awkward for you, I'll understand if you'd rather not come. Or I could ask if he'd mind not attending. He's only flying in on Friday evening; he's probably going to be too tired anyway.'

'That won't be necessary,' Wufei said quickly. 'We're both adults. As Trowa says, there's no reason why we can't meet occasionally.'

'I know he'll be delighted to help with Nataku if he can. Would you like me to ask him? Perhaps the two of you could meet up on Saturday and spend some time training her? I don't think he has any other plans.'

'Quatre, enough,' Wufei warned him. 'Please. I'm more than capable of organising that myself.'

'Of course you are. I'll see you on Friday then. Do you want to talk to talk to Trowa again? All right, see you soon.' He handed me back the receiver, along with a perky little smile. 'I can't wait to see them together, can you? They'll be an utterly adorable couple.'

I shook my head, settling against the cushions and pulling Quatre into my arms. 'You're unbelievable. What would you have done if he'd said he didn't want to go to your party? Where would your all your matchmaking plans have been then?'

My boyfriend snorted loudly. 'Don't be silly. There was no way he would have said that. Once I offered him a way out, he was far to proud to accept it. If they can just sit down and talk to each other for an hour or so, without Wufei feeling pressured, I bet they'll get along wonderfully.'

'And just how are you going to manage that?'

'Oh, I'll think of something,' Quatre said breezily, and then twisted around to look at me. 'What's the matter? I thought you wanted that too.'

I shrugged. 'I don't know, Quatre. To be honest, I'm not sure if either of them is all that interested. And I'm not sure if Wufei even wants to be in a relationship right now. He's very tied up with work, and he's got Nataku to deal with.'

'But that's precisely _why _he needs someone,' my boyfriend argued. 'Zechs would be so good for him.

'Maybe. I told you about his ex, right? He was really badly hurt.'

'I know. But that was years ago. Surely he's been out with other people since then?'

'No one serious, as far as I know. He was really messed up by this guy when he was a kid. I told you some of it; Wufei was only just nineteen, he was really shy, still getting to grips with being gay, with the thought of having to tell his family. He had zero experience, and that bastard Khushrenada totally took advantage of him. Wufei thought he was great; the youngest guy who'd ever been made partner in his law firm, and he'd won a couple of pretty high profile cases against major corporations who'd been screwing over their employees. Wufei's a real sucker for that sort of stuff, you know; justice winning out. He was over the moon that he was assigned to be Khushrenda's assistant for work experience and then they ended up in bed. Wufei thought it was the real thing, soul mates forever and all that, and then the asshole just dropped him overnight and moved on to someone else.'

Damn. I hate talking about all this. Wufei had been so happy for those few weeks, utterly convinced he'd found his Mr. Right, and unwilling to listen to anything that Sally or I said.

'Poor Wufei,' Quatre said softly, putting his plate on the floor and curling up beside me. 'Trowa, that man he was with, was his full name Treize Khushrenada? I've met him; he's horrible.'

'How the hell do _you _know him?'

'I don't know him exactly. He was at the party last week, the one I went to with Relena, and…'

'And _what_?' I demanded. Fuck, if that bastard had tried anything on with Quatre, if he'd so much as _looked _at him, I'd kill him. No way was I going to let Treize bloody Khushrenada fuck with another person I cared about.

'Nothing really. Well, no, I suppose it was something. He asked me out.'

'He _what_?'

'I didn't accept if that's what you're thinking!'

'Quatre. I never thought that for one second. I was just curious to know exactly how you'd shot him down.'

'Oh.' He gave me a small smile. 'I'm not sure if there was actual shooting. I just told him I had a boyfriend, and that I took my relationships very seriously. That was all.' He shivered slightly, and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. 'It was rather unpleasant. He was so very confident that I'd want to be with him.

'Why didn't you tell me any of this?'

'I don't know, really. I suppose I just didn't want to think about it.'

'Never mind.' I kissed his forehead. 'You don't need to waste your time thinking about someone like him. How about if I distract you a little bit?'

'I'd like that.' His lips curved into a deliciously kissable smile. 'Do you remember we said that we'd have to give the futon a proper farewell party? We could do that.'

'Oh, I forgot to tell you. Wufei said he doesn't want it back; apparently he's bought a couple of new bookcases and he doesn't really have room, so I get to keep it. What we could do is to give my new bed a proper welcome home party. Would that be OK?'

'Oh yes!' He let me pull him upright and lead him into the bedroom, and then started to laugh. I didn't blame him. Neither of us had thought to take measurements of the bed, in relation to the room size. It just about fit in, but there wasn't much room for anything else. I'd had to move my wardrobe into the hallway, and I couldn't open the lower drawers on the dresser.

'You should have been here this morning. The delivery guys took over an hour to get it in here. The mattress is so big that I'm going to have to go out and buy a whole new set of sheets. And I'll be chasing you all over the place.'

'I might let you catch me.' That teasing little smile hovered on his lovely mouth. 'Sometimes.'

'Would this be one of those times?'

Quatre leaned up to whisper in my ear, flicking his tongue around the lobe. 'I think I'm already caught, Trowa. Don't you?'

God, it was hard to concentrate on anything when he did that. Especially when he bit down gently. I wanted him to do that again. Not just to my ear.

'Looks that way.' I tugged on his hand. 'Come on. You're going to be spending a hell of a lot of time in this bed; it's time for you to get acquainted.'

It was amazing to be able to stretch out properly in bed, instead of having to fold myself up like an accordion on the futon. 'God, that feels really good. It's great not having my legs dangling over the edge.'

One blond eyebrow lifted. 'Oh? Is that the only thing that feels good?'

'That feels pretty good, too.' I arched into his hand as he slipped it down my chest, sliding deliciously close. Well, I obviously wasn't going to have to chase him. 'Actually, it feels great. It's nice just to lie here and let you do that.'

'Oh!' His hand stilled on my thigh. 'If you're feeling tired, we could always have a nap.' The expression on his face was utterly priceless; a mix of confusion, disappointment and concern.

'Hey. I never said we weren't going to do anything. Just I sort of hoped you'd want to do the hard work this time. There's lube on the table beside you.'

He looked at me, teeth sunk into his lower lip. 'Are you sure?'

'Honey, you do realise that we're in bed together and naked and that I'm under you, right? They're usually pretty good signs that a guy is sure. What else can I do to convince you? Put an ad on TV; hire a skywriter; take out a page in the _Sanque Times_ that Trowa Barton really, really wants to have sex with Quatre Winner?'

'All right, all right. I get it.' He laughed softly, resting his head on my chest. 'How do you _do _that? You always know exactly what to say to make me laugh. I never knew sex could be this much fun.'

'It's meant to be fun. That's sort of the whole point. Who'd want to do it otherwise?'

Quatre gave me a resolute little nod. 'So…if I'm going to, ah, do you, is there anything special I need to know?'

'Like, do I have I any weird kinks?' I grinned up at him. He was trying so desperately to be all calm and collected about this. 'Not that I know of. Just go slow at first, OK? It's been a few months since I did it like this. And Quatre, stop taking all of it so seriously. Yeah, it hurts a little bit at the very start, but the rest more than makes up for it.'

'OK.' He took a deep breath, fiddling with the cap on the tube. 'Just tell me if I'm not doing it properly.'

'You'll be great,' I assured him, spreading my legs and tugging him between them. Honey, if you're really uncomfortable with this bit, I can do it myself. Would that help?'

'No. No, it's fine.' He took a deep breath, and then one finger ghosted up my thigh. The first probe made me gasp and he immediately jerked away.

'Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean…'

'It felt good, baby. I swear. Listen, we'll try it this way to start off.' I rolled over on to my stomach, thinking that he'd seemed embarrassed more than anything. Maybe he'd find it easier if we weren't actually looking at each other.

There was nothing for a few moments, just the sound of us breathing, and then he surprised me with a little kiss between my shoulder blades and warm, gentle hands coursing down my spine. Oh, now, _that _was nice.

It's hard to beat a cute, naked blond straddling your thighs and fully intent on nothing but your pleasure. He was so damn good at that. I hadn't even realised I was tense until he started working on my shoulders; Quatre wasn't the only one who was nervous. Not that I thought he'd deliberately hurt me or anything, but I wanted him to enjoy the experience as well.

'You know, you could just do that for the rest of my life and I wouldn't complain.'

'Really?' He shifted slightly, then followed the trail of his hands with his mouth, pressing tiny kisses all the way down my spine. 'I thought you wanted more tonight.'

'Hey.' I reached an arm back and caught his hand. 'I don't want anything you're not comfortable with. OK? What are you scared of?'

'That I'll hurt you.' He said it so softly I almost didn't catch the words.

'You won't, baby.' I twisted around to hold him. 'Listen, how about we go back to the back rub for a bit, and you just do whatever you feel comfortable with after that. Deal?'

The massage started off very professional, almost clinical, kneading my muscles and just relaxing us both. I tried to hold off the groans of appreciation at first, not sure how he'd take them, but he chuckled, and started to get a little bit more adventurous. I got a dollop of lube squirted in the middle of my back, and his touches became more lingering, as if he was starting to enjoy them too.

'I'll fall asleep if you keep doing that,' I confessed, and got a low laugh in return.

'I'll make sure you don't.' For the first time, his hands strayed below my waist, a feather light brush of fingers across sensitive skin.

_Yes! _

I really wanted him to do this; partly for me, partly for him. It was such a damn shame that his hang-ups were keeping him from finding this sort of pleasure; understandable since he'd been hurt himself but it would be great to show him how amazing it could be. He was more than capable of being assertive when he wanted; it wasn't that he was particularly submissive in bed so there was no reason why he shouldn't get the hang of it.

'Oh, that's really, _really _good, Quatre. Did that massage course teach you how to do this stuff?'

'Just using my initiative.' He sounded pleased and just a little bit smug at the praise, and one finger brushed deeper, not penetrating, just teasing and touching in a slow dance of exploration. Very gentle and tentative but every stroke went just that little bit further, and his other hand had worked itself between my legs, dealing another little massage there. He was getting there, in every sense, starting to realise there was very definite potential for pleasure in all of this.

'You know, you might want to use a little bit of lube if you go any deeper,' I commented, trying to sound all casual and I could practically feel the blush radiating as he apologised.

'I'm so sorry. Of course. So stupid of me.' He didn't stop though, and I gasped as one newly slick fingertip dipped a little further in. 'Oh! Is that all right, Trowa?'

'Great,' I muttered, trying hard to think pure, clean thoughts. Not easy sprawled on my front with my boyfriend's finger up my ass. This was all about Quatre; not me. I wasn't going to come until he was ready. Even if it killed me. 'How does it feel?'

'It's hard to describe. Isn't it? Amazing.'

'How's this?' I clenched my ass about him and his breath caught. 'Try another finger, honey. And see if you can curl them a little bit. You know what you're looking for, right?'

'Yes.' He took it very, very slowly, just like I'd said. Sweet, gentle touches that stroked and caressed and made me want more and more. When he finally hit that particular spot, the sensation had me jerking up off the bed, and almost hitting him on the chin.

The little tease laughed softly; he was obviously getting a lot more confident. A third finger slid in, maddeningly slow, and then he was rubbing that spot again.

'Trowa. I, um, I need a condom. Now.'

'Don't bother.' I turned my head back to look at him. I'm serious. You told me you're safe and I trust you. Besides, I really, really want to feel you come inside me. If you hate the idea, we'll use a condom.'

'Oh, OK. I trust you as well.' He swallowed, audibly. 'Would you mind turning over for me? Please?'

'Sure. We'll do this any way you want. But I really need you to do something soon, OK?'

'I think I need that too,' he breathed, sliding my legs wider apart, and slathering more lube on himself. As I felt him enter me, easing in with tender care, he moaned then said, 'Oh, _God_, Trowa. This is just…'

'Yeah,' I muttered, reaching up to pull his head down. 'Isn't it?' I knew just what he was feeling; that mind-blowing mixture of heat and friction and tightness and connection. I tried to put all that into the kiss, as well as how I felt about him. He was amazing and beautiful and perfect and when he started to move he was even more so.

Neither of us lasted too long after that; it was hard to keep any measure of control with Quatre's tongue thrusting into my mouth and those blue eyes gazing into mine, and his body arching into me. Pure possession.

'See? Told you you'd like it. You did, didn't you?'

'Oh, yes,' he panted, collapsing heavily on my chest. 'Yes. Trowa, it was incredible. You were right. I loved it. I love you. Can we do it again?'

Oh, God. I'd created a monster.

A cute, blue-eyed monster that was all mine.


	50. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Note; as always, thanks to KS for proofing. Apologies for the delay with posting this one, but there have been many, many computer issues….

**Chapter 50:**

My matchmaking dinner party, hijacked by Heero, has turned into a military operation.

I don't think he's particularly interested in getting them together, but he loves the logistics of it all. By six o'clock on Friday evening, my kitchen has become command central. He is seated at the kitchen table, fingers dancing over his laptop as he checks Zechs' flight from Paris.

The plan is that he will come here straight from the airport, arriving at around seven. Trowa, who's driving Wufei, is due to arrive at the same time, a good thirty minutes before anyone else has been invited. Then we can manufacture some sort of crisis in the kitchen, and serve them drinks in the garden room, leaving them to have some time alone before the other guests arrive.

I'm sure something is bound to happen if they're together, in a suitably relaxed, romantic setting.

Actually, the way things are going, we may not have to manufacture a crisis situation. It's entirely possibly that Dorothy and Duo will have killed each other by then. She is officially in charge of what Heero has called 'the catering operation' but Duo is insisting on helping. It isn't going too well.

'Zechs' ETA is right on course,' Heero announces, looking up from the computer screen. 'Quatre, I meant to ask you, did you read that report I sent you on your security system?'

'Report?' I look up blankly from folding napkins, not quite sure what he's talking about.

He clicks his tongue, jabbing fingers at his keyboard. 'I don't know what's got into you lately. You used to be relatively sensible. You asked me to check out your alarm on Sunday, remember?'

'Oh, right.' Over Duo's sniggered comment that _he _knows what's got into me lately, I do vaguely remember asking him to check out Dorothy's possible intruder at the weekend. The memory's been pretty much erased by what happened later that day though. The row with Trowa, the making up, him saying those lovely things about my smile, the making up….

'Winner! Can't you stop daydreaming for two seconds?' Heero snaps. 'This is important. Duo and I had a good look around on Sunday evening, and it did look like some of the plants had been trampled but that might have been a fox or a cat. It was a little hard to tell since Dorothy had already been poking around. Anyway, we double checked all the alarm sensors and they're working fine.'

'Thank you. I'm really sorry to have bothered you.' I feel a bit mean actually; dragging him and Duo out on a Sunday evening for what was probably just Dorothy's imagination.

'No problem. Quatre, you're not lighting any more candles, are you? This house is already a fire hazard.'

'Just a couple. And they're not really candles; they're tea-lights. Duo, can you help me carry these into the garden room, please?' Any excuse to get him away from Dorothy for a few minutes; she's at a delicate stage with her soufflé and his suggestions to add tomato ketchup aren't helping at all. Even I know that's just silly.

As soon as we're out of the kitchen, he starts grumbling. 'I don't know how you put up with her, Quat. She's a grade A bitch. Just because I didn't learn to cook at some fancy Swiss finishing school doesn't mean I don't know how to,' he complains.

'I know. But she is genuinely trying to be helpful. I think she just wants to prove she can do it all by herself. And don't say anything yet, but she may be moving out soon.'

'Seriously? That's the best thing I've heard in weeks.'

I nod. 'One of the gardeners on her uncle's estate was fired a couple of days ago, and Dorothy is getting the cottage he and his family were living in. She'll be moving out next week.' I know I should feel sorry for the poor man but I can't help feeling rather glad that I'll be getting my home back very soon.

I spent ages decorating the garden room and it looks charming. Bowls of spring bulbs, scented candles, a huge arrangement of freesias.

'Hey, this place looks great.' Duo grins at me. 'I sort of get where Heero was getting with the potential fire hazard though. Where the hell are we going to put _more _candles?'

'On the window sill, I thought. You don't think it's a bit overdone, do you? I can blow some out.'

'Nah, leave it. You're sure you don't want to carry down a bed as well, and maybe stick a mirror on the ceiling? Just in case they don't do subtle?'

'I'm not doing all of this just for them,' I say, slightly ruffled. I don't think it's all _that _obvious. 'If people get too hot in the living room, they might like to sit out here and relax for a little while.'

'Oh, really? So you're not just planning to lock Zechs and Wufei in and pretend you've lost the key or something?'

Hmm. That's an idea. I'm not sure if I'd get away with it though. For one thing, there are French doors as an alternative escape route.

'Of course I'm not. Oh, have you thought about Wufei wanting you to sell him a painting? He'll probably ask you about it tonight.'

He shrugs, settling his tray of tealights down. 'He was just being nice because I'm your friend, Quat. I don't think he really wants me to paint something.'

'Don't be silly,' I tell him briskly. 'He admired the painting before he knew who the artist was. And it will help you to get into art school if you have a portfolio of paintings you've sold.'

He groans. 'You're not _still _on about that. I keep telling you I don't want to go to art school.'

'Yes you do. You should, at least. It's such a shame to waste all that talent you've got.'

'Yeah, right. Get real, Quat. I don't have any sort of formal education, and I couldn't afford it anyway. Even if I did want to go. Or d'you think I should expect Heero to keep me for four years or however long it takes?'

'I'm sure he'd be more than happy to, but it's not necessary. You can get a grant, just like I did, and still work part-time with Howard. And mature students don't need any qualifications.'

'How do you know all that?'

'I looked it up on line.' I plump up a couple of cushions on the sofa; I've already removed the stools and the office chair so they'll have to sit cosily together. 'Enrolment doesn't start until July; you have plenty of time to make a decision. Just think about it, Duo. Please.'

'If it'll stop you nagging me, fine. I feel sorry for Trowa. He's probably still under the illusion that you're this cute, innocent guy and not a reincarnation of Machiavelli or something.'

'Trowa,' I inform him loftily, 'has no complaints whatsoever.'

It's almost seven o'clock. Surely it's about time he got here. The first person to arrive is Zechs, but Trowa and Wufei are only a few minutes later.

Duo, who has apparently decided to play butler for the evening, takes their coats, and ushers Zechs and Wufei inside, offering drinks, which leaves me and Trowa alone in the hallway.

It's a couple of days since I've seen him. He left yesterday morning, neither of us feeling remotely ready to deal with the world outside my house. After thirty six hours spent almost entirely in bed together, it was rather difficult to go back to reality.

'Hey.' He looks amazing; I've never seen him dressed up before. This was a stupid idea; inviting all these people over when I really I just want to be alone with him. 'Missed me?'

'Let me show you how much.' We both fall into the kiss, his hands cradling the back of my neck and holding me against him. Even when he lets my mouth go, he nuzzles into the curve of my throat, humming as he runs both hands over my back.

'Wow. That was really hot. I bet there are people who'd pay to get a show like that one.' Duo is grinning at us both. 'Quat, can you come upstairs for a second? I need to talk you about that thing.'

'What thing?'

'You know. The, um, thing we need to talk about,' he hisses, dragging me outside and up the stairs to my room.

'What are you _doing_?'

'When I took Zechsy's coat, I slipped one of Heero's spiffy little listening devices into his back pocket.' He holds out his hand, showing me something that looks like a small iPod. 'Here you go. One little transmitter that will let us hear everything.'

'Duo! We can't do that! It's eavesdropping! I can't do that to guests in my home.'

'It's not eavesdropping!' Duo sounds totally offended. 'It's intelligence gathering. For the _mission_. How are supposed to know how to act later on if we don't have a clue how they're getting on? We have to do this, Quat, or the whole thing might fail.'

'Oh.' I suppose there's some truth in that. Maybe he's right. 'No! We shouldn't be doing this sort of thing. They're having a private conversation, after all.'

'Aw, get real.' He grabs my shoulder and shoves me on to the bed. 'You know you want to. Just listen for a minute. If they start saying anything too private, we'll turn it off.'

As it turns out, they're not talking about anything remotely private. Wufei is rather stiltedly asking Zechs about his flight, and then they start to discuss the weather. I've had more intimate conversations with complete strangers.

How annoying. They are sharing a small sofa in a candle-lit, flower-filled room and discussing the rainfall in Paris compared to Sanque. I'm not sure what else I can do at this point. It's obvious they're crazy about each other; maybe I should try locking them somewhere with a large supply of oysters and champagne?

'Not too promising, is it?' Duo makes a face at me, slumping against the headboard.

'Not really.' I let myself fall back against the pillows, trying not to think about the last time I did this, with Trowa pushing me slowly down and rising over me. OK, I really shouldn't be thinking about that now.

'What are you guys doing up here?' Trowa himself is suddenly standing in the doorway.

Oh dear. I'm sure Trowa won't be too impressed at us spying on his best friend. Still, at least they're not saying anything right now. 'Um, nothing really. Just…'

I cast an anguished glance at Duo, who rolls over, grinning. 'Hey, Trowa. Here's the thing. Me and Quat have always wanted to try a threesome and we thought if we lay on the bed for long enough, some hot guy was sure to wander by and join in.'

'No problem,' Trowa says smoothly, moving over to the bed and reaching one hand out to grope Duo's ass. 'I've always wanted a threesome too; I'll be happy to oblige.' My best friend squawks loudly and fells off with a thud.

'So, what are you really doing?'

'Just talking,' Duo says quickly, standing up. 'But we were on our way down. Is everything OK in the kitchen? Someone really needs to watch that chick to make sure she doesn't put arsenic in the soup or…'

Drat. At precisely the wrong moment, Zechs' voice speaks up. They've moved on from the weather report and he's claiming he hadn't realised Wufei had been invited to the party. He's such a smooth liar; I can never do that.

'Quatre!' Trowa sounds totally shocked. 'Please, tell me you're not doing what I think you are.'

'It's OK. It's not remotely personal or anything,' I say quickly. Well, it _wasn't_. It seems to be changing now, though.

'I do hope this isn't awkward for you,' Zechs is saying apologetically. 'I'm so sorry, Wufei, about Quatre trying to set up like this. He's a terrible meddler. He always thinks he knows exactly the right thing to do, and that nobody else is capable of running their own lives.'

'Trowa's exactly the same,' Wufei agrees. My boyfriend makes a little sound of pure indignation, plonking down on the bed beside me, and I try not to laugh. 'He seems to think I'm unable to sort out my personal life without him interfering.'

'And neither of them seems to be capable of understanding that sometimes people aren't interested in each other, and that no amount of interference, however well meant, will change that.'

Duo, still standing by the door, glances over at me in surprise, and I mouth 'negative psychology'. Well, I hope that's what it is.

'Precisely,' Wufei agrees, far too heartily. 'It's utterly ridiculous.'

Well, that's just charming. I go to all this trouble and all I get is abuse for _interfering_. Duo and Trowa are both doubled over with laughter.

'You have no idea what Quatre is like. He's convinced that he can throw us together, simply because it suits his ideas of how the world should be ordered, and never considers that he might be putting both of us into an awkward position.'

'Yeah, Quat,' Duo chuckles. 'Personally, I kind of like awkward positions.'

'I suppose he does mean well.' Wufei sounds a little uncertain about that. Huh.

'That's immaterial. I promise you, I'll make sure he never does something like this again. I've made it very clear to him that we are strictly friends, and I have no intention of letting him mess that up.'

'Certainly not.'

'I am not messing things up!' I mutter. 'I'm helping. If it wasn't for me, they'd never have got together.'

'Hey, relax,' Trowa whispers, pressing a feather-light kiss to my forehead. 'They don't mean it. And they seem to be getting on pretty damn well, don't you think?'

'There's absolutely no reason why two people can't take pleasure in each other's company on a purely platonic level, is there?'

'None at all.' Wufei's voice is starting to sound just a little bit ragged. Excellent. Zechs is obviously getting to him.

'You've been totally honest about what you want from me, and I would never dream of trying to pressure you into anything else.' His voice drops so we can barely hear. 'However much I might wish to.'

There is deafening silence for a few minutes, broken by Duo wishing he'd thought of installing a camera as well. 'D'you reckon Wufei's killing him with his bare hands or kissing the hell out of him? Oh!' We all stare at the little device, which is emitting some very graphic gasps of pleasure. 'OK, not killing anyway.'

'That's enough!' Trowa says suddenly. 'Duo, turn that off now. This is getting beyond personal.'

'But we were just getting to the good stuff,' my best friend moans, heading for the door. 'Aw, Quat, your boyfriend's no fun.'

'Oh yes, he is.' I slide my hand into Trowa's and stand up.

'Am I really?'

'Absolutely. More fun that I've ever had in my entire life.'

'Mmm.' His tongue flicks delicately around my ear. 'You're fun too, even if you do fill your house with all these people so I can't get my hands on you properly. I'll make sure you make up for it, though, once they've all left.'

'Yes, please.' I give him a quick kiss on the mouth, with just enough tongue to let him know I totally agree with that plan.

Dinner, thanks to Dorothy, is totally perfect. At least, I imagine it is, since everyone is eating and praising the food, but I don't really taste much. Trowa apparently has the ability to eat one-handed, and it's hard to concentrate on the food, on anything really, given what the other one is doing.

Wufei, who obviously hasn't noticed that his shirt is rumpled and one of the buttons has mysteriously disappeared, is trying to be all coolly collected, discussing politics with Relena and Otto, and only blushing occasionally. Usually when one of Zechs' hands vanishes under the table.

Actually, the whole evening is perfect. I can't remember the last time I've had an evening like this. Duo and I used to have parties all the time, and then I met Simon. No, I'm not going to think about any of that, not tonight. Everything is different now.

Once we've moved into the living room and everyone has been served coffee and slices of Dorothy's lemon sponge with lavender syrup ice-cream, I perch on the edge of Trowa's chair, resting my head on his shoulder.

'That's nice, honey. Tell me, how much have you been drinking?'

'Not much, I think. Just a glass or two of wine. Why?'

'You're starting to lose all your inhibitions,' he purrs, snaking an arm around my waist. 'I like it. I like it a lot, actually. Do you think your guests would mind if I stole you for a little while?'

'Yep,' Duo cuts in cheerfully. 'You get him to yourself once we leave; right now he has to stay and be a good host. Hey, Quat, can you play something for us?' He mimes playing an air violin.

Wufei seemed to like the Bach I played for him before, so I begin with that, and then start to improvise a little, segueing into some pieces I've composed myself. It's the first time, I realise, that I've played my violin for Trowa, and he seems impressed, judging by the look in his eyes. Wow. It's actually rather intense, playing with his eyes on me like that, and I'm out of breath when I finally stop. The round of applause takes me by surprise; I'd forgotten that there were other people present. 'Can't someone else do something?'

'I can,' Zechs says smoothly, moving over to the piano and seating himself on the new stool I've bought. The new, extra-sturdy stool. 'Wufei, do you think you could please turn the pages for me?'

'Are you OK?' Trowa asks softly when I sit down beside him again. 'You're looking sort of flushed.'

'It's getting rather warm in here. D'you want to come into the garden for a minute? I should probably let the dogs out anyway. Considering everyone's been feeding them treats all night.'

'I like the sound of being fed treats all night. Any chance of that happening?'

There are a few wolf-whistles as the two of us leave the room. Still, I'm warm anyway; no one can tell that I'm blushing. And I know my friends all like Trowa; it's so lovely to have a boyfriend they approve of.

It's rather nice to be outside. With Trowa holding me, and whispering about what sort of 'treats' he'll be expecting later on.

'Maybe a little something in advance, hmmm?' His lips travel down my throat, a gentle trail of kisses at first, and then his lips fasten around a piece of skin, sucking a little more forcefully.

'Trowa, stop! I'm not going back inside with a hickey.'

'No?' He pulls back a little, scraping his teeth lightly across my collarbone. 'What do you suppose they think we're doing out here? Discussing global warming?'

'I don't care what they think. You can do anything you like when they leave, I promise, but not right now.'

'Anything sounds good. Really good. You were great in there, you know. I never knew you were so talented, though. Why in God's name aren't you playing professionally? You're brilliant.'

'Lots of reasons. I told you that I did a couple of concert tours when I was at university and I hated it. We spent a month every summer travelling, living out of suitcases, staying in a different city every night. I don't want to live like that; I like having a proper home. Plus I'm not very good at standing up in front of huge audiences. I used to get sick before every performance.'

'You seemed to be fine tonight,' he says softly.

'It's different with friends. And I do play in public sometimes. I'm in a chamber music ensemble, but we mainly play for small audiences. You'll have to come to some of our concerts.' I hesitate, taking a small sip out of the wine glass Trowa has brought out with him. 'I suppose I try to keep a low profile too. I had a couple of reviews for solo performances, and some journalist wrote a piece mentioning my family and they were furious.

'That's not very fair on you.'

'Honestly, I don't mind. If I desperately wanted to be a concert violinist, I'd probably go ahead and do it, but I don't. I love teaching, and I've started to compose a little bit. I like the way my life is. Especially now that I've got you.'

'I like my life too,' Trowa breathes. 'Especially with you.'

I smile up at him, and then think of something. 'Um, Trowa. Where you serious when you said that thing to Duo about wanting to have a threesome?'

He bursts out laughing. 'I should've know you wouldn't let that one go. I was about as serious as Duo was. Good enough?'

'Um.' I bite my lip; Trowa doesn't really know Duo all that well, probably not well enough to know when he's being serious or not.

'Don't look like that.' He slides both arms around my waist, pulling me against him. 'I have no intention of sharing you with anyone. Not ever. Not with Duo, not with this mystery admirer who sent you flowers. Got that?'

'Got it.' I haven't told anyone this, but there were more roses outside my front door this morning when I left for work. Along with a little card saying that reservations for two had been made for tonight at a very exclusive little French bistro. It was signed 'Treize'. The roses went to our school secretary; the card has been torn up into very tiny pieces. Hopefully, my not turning up will give him the message that I'm very definitely not interested in him.

'Quatre?' Trowa asks, looking at me rather oddly. 'Are you OK? You just blanked out there.'

'Sorry.' I give myself a little shake. 'Sorry. I'm fine. I was just wondering how soon we can get rid of everyone and have some time to ourselves.'

'Well, you're the planner; I'm sure you can come up with something clever. Maybe we could start making out in front of them?'

'You don't know my friends at all, do you? They'd probably like that. Actually, I'm surprised they're not staring out the window at us.'

Trowa laughs. 'Don't look now, honey, but we do have a bit of an audience. How about we put on a little show for them?'


	51. Chapter 51

For Alonzo. Obviously. And his owner.

Thanks to KS for having the last word….

Trowa's POV:

**Chapter 51:**

It took a few minutes to wake up properly; to realise I was in Quatre's bed - excellent - and alone - not so good. Before I had time to wonder where he was and pscych myself up to go and find him, he appeared in the doorway.

'Where did you get to?'

'I had to let Maggie out.' He shrugged off his dressing gown; that would be one thing to look forward to when Dorothy moved out. We wouldn't have to worry about covering up all the time. 'And I called the surgery; that dog you operated on last night is stable. I talked to Catherine; she was very impressed with what you'd done.'

'He's really OK?' The dog, a cute little King Charles spaniel, had dashed across a road in pursuit of a cat and had a head-on collision with a motorbike coming in the opposite direction. I'd spent hours operating on him, hadn't really thought he'd make it.

'He's fine.' Quatre slid into bed, beaming. 'Apparently you're a total star. He's a family pet and there are six children who think you're their new hero.'

I snorted; maybe now they'd start keeping their pet on a lead around traffic. 'What time is it?'

'A little after nine. And don't worry; it's Sunday.'

'Mmm. Nice.' I hauled him over to my side of the bed, not that he was resisting very much, and wrapped myself around him. The previous day had been something of a nightmare; my shift, scheduled to end at six so I could take him out to dinner, had turned into an endurance test. I'd finally finished up just before midnight. After a quick stop home to grab a change of clothes and feed Leo, I'd driven to Quatre's, gulped a piece of toast and fallen asleep within about thirty minutes of walking in his door.

'Hey. Sorry about last night. I'll make it up to you.' Instead of being pissed off that I'd skipped our date, he'd been brilliantly understanding. There had been a hot bath ready, a cup of my favourite coffee and he'd snuggled happily under the duvet with me once I'd finally stumbled into bed. My perfect boyfriend.

Of course it didn't hurt that he was also adorably cute and sexy as hell, and currently naked in my arms. That didn't hurt at all.

'Will you now?' Those lovely eyes sparkled at me. 'That sounds like fun.'

'I'll make sure it is. And we can spend the whole day together in this bed.' Damn, that sounded good, almost as good as he felt against me. Supple and warm and hard in all the right places, and his hands were starting to do some deliciously interesting things.

'Um, actually we can't. There's the pet show, remember?'

Oh, I'd forgotten about the bloody pet show. 'We don't _have _to go. You haven't entered Maggie in any classes.'

'Well, _I _have to go,' he told me, all those lovely, teasing touches abruptly stopped.

Damn. 'I thought you were able to multitask, Quatre.' Trying not to laugh at his bemused expression, I caught his right hand and put it just where it had been, hoping he'd get the message. 'Can't you touch me and talk at the same time?'

'I suppose.' Thank God, his fingers began that slow, downwards dance of sheer bliss. 'I'm sorry but I have to go. I promised Duo I'd be there to cheer on Heero and Shinnie.'

'Obedience classes,' I gasped at what he was doing, 'don't start 'til three. There's no rush.'

'Nataku's class is one of the first, though.' Huh. Typical of him to have memorised the entire damn schedule. He squeezed gently, sending a pure current of desire blazing down my nerve endings. 'Don't you want to be there for that?'

My dear, innocent Quatre. 'Listen, honey. I really doubt that either Zechs or Wufei will be going anywhere remotely near a pet show today, so unless Nataku gets on the bus by herself, then you needn't worry about having to be there.'

'I don't understand.' Those big, cornflower-blue eyes widened as he took in just what I meant.

'Work it out. You're the one who's been angling to get them together. Zechs drove Wufei home on Friday night and Wufei hasn't been answering his 'phone since. Oh, don't stop what you're doing, please.'

'I'm sorry. You don't really think they're sleeping together, do you? Already? They hardly know each other!'

'Not everyone's like you, you know, wanting to wait until the stars are in the correct alignment, and making their poor, frustrated boyfriend wait.'

'Are you saying I wasn't worth it?' He pouted charmingly, and followed it up with a long, caressing stroke in a southerly direction.

'Of course you were,' I assured him. God, I'd have assured him of anything, given what his clever, knowing, talented fingers were doing. It was true anyway. 'Worth every minute. But people are different. And you're the one who made sure they spent all that time together last night.'

He nodded, teeth nibbling his lower lip. Damn. I really, really wanted those teeth to be nibbling somewhere else. 'Don't you think it's too soon, though? It's always a bad idea to have sex on the first date.'

'Is it? Why?'

'It just is! Trowa, I don't want it to be just a one night stand for them. I thought they'd want to get to know each other first, romance each other a little. You know.'

Ah. Of course. He'd had it all planned; he probably expected to orchestrate all their dates at the start. Little schemer. I wasn't sure whether I should be laughing or running for the hills.

'Wufei's not into one night stands,' I told him. '_If _anything's happened between them, it means he's serious about Zechs, I can promise you that. And maybe they just spent the night talking.' Yeah, and I'd be called into the surgery later to treat all those flying pigs out there.

'Do you really think that?'

'Actually, no. Honey, stop worrying about this.' _And ideally get on with what you were doing._ 'I'm sure there'll be weekends in Paris and candlelit dinners and all that stuff as well. I just don't get why you're not pleased with all of this. The whole point of Friday night was getting them hooked up, wasn't it?'

'Not like this! I just think it's far too soon.'

'Maybe it wasn't too soon for them,' I suggested. There obviously wasn't going to be any action until he'd got this sorted out to his own satisfaction, which sadly meant that my own satisfaction wasn't going to be happening until he'd calmed down. 'Come on, sometimes it just works out this way, and that's how it's meant to be. And none of it would ever have happened if it hadn't been for you. They both really owe you.'

He smiled happily; a cute blond cupid with one hand cupped between my legs. 'They did seem to be getting on very well last night.'

'Absolutely,' I agreed heartily. 'The perfect couple. Quatre, do you think you could stop worrying about other people's boyfriends for about five minutes and concentrate on your own?'

It took far more than five minutes; once I'd helped him to shed all those inhibitions about sex, he'd turned into a wonderfully creative, enthusiastic, no-holds-barred lover. No wonder I was totally crazy about him. He'd been worth waiting for.

We didn't get to the show-grounds until almost eleven. Quatre had a tub in his bathroom, and his water heater had a far larger capacity than mine. After he'd tried to make French toast, and I'd cleared up the mess and made a second batch, we headed off.

Within ten minutes of walking onto the showgrounds, I was in love; utterly and completely, lost in the biggest, softest pair of dark eyes I'd ever seen, fringed by a veritable forest of long lashes.

'Isn't he gorgeous?'

'Yes, Trowa,' Quatre laughed. 'I think I'm starting to get jealous. You've never stood and stared at me for that long, and then told me I was beautiful.'

'Haven't I really?' I clicked my tongue. 'Very remiss of me. I'll make that up to you tonight. But seriously, isn't he the most beautiful thing?' I noticed he'd been hanging back a little bit, Maggie clasped in his arms. 'Come and say hell, honey. He's friendly.'

'Um, I'm not sure I like llamas,' he said, a bit nervously. 'Duo was spat on by one once when we were in South America. He said it was really disgusting.'

'That was a bad llama. This is a lovely friendly one. Aren't you, sweetheart?'

Quatre laughed, stepping up beside me. 'I'm not sure I like the idea of you kissing other boys.'

'You'll just have to make an exception for this one, I'm afraid. Just rub his back, yeah, like that. He'll love that.'

'He is rather cute. And he feels lovely.' Quatre ducked his head to read the little sign around my new love's neck. 'He's called Alonzo! That's so adorable. And he won the Unusual Pets class. Isn't he clever?'

'Hi, Trowa,' an amused female voice. 'I might have guessed you'd zoom in on the llamas.'

'Hi Sally. You remember Quatre, don't you?'

'I do, yes. Hi Quatre. Is this Maggie? She's lovely!' She bent down to hug the puppy. 'Trowa, have you seen Wufei yet? I was trying to call him all day yesterday. Is everything OK? That terrifying dog hasn't attacked him or anything, has she?'

'He's fine. Shacked up with Prince Milliardo Peacecraft, so far as I know.'

'You're joking! Really? Wow, good for him. When did that happen?'

'Quatre had a dinner on Friday. I think they properly got together then, but they've apparently been talking a lot over the past week or so.'

'Lucky Wufei. He's _gorgeous_.' She glanced over at Quatre, who was petting Alonzo and politely giving us a little privacy. 'You haven't done too badly for yourself either, have you? He's such a cutie. How serious is it with you guys?'

'Very,' I said honestly. 'He's great. We've swapped house keys and everything.'

She whistled. 'Wow. The world must be shaking on its axis right now. Trowa Barton serious about someone; Chang Wufei snuggled up with the prince of Sanque, no less. I'm really glad for you. Anyway, I'm going to head off and see if I can find Tim; his parents have brought their two Siamese cats. Tell Wufei to call me if you see him.'

'What now?' I gave Alonzo one last pat, envying the hell out of whoever was lucky enough to own him. 'You want to get a drink or an ice-cream or something? There's a stall over there.'

'That would be nice,' Quatre said happily, walking out of the show and was promptly pounced on by a dark-haired young woman. 'Hey Quatre. Is this Maggie? She's so cute! You have got to bring her in to school some day.' She gave me an arch look. 'And this must be Trowa! It's so great to meet you!' She winked at Quatre. 'I'd tell you to bring _him _into school, but he probably wouldn't be safe.'

Quatre laughed. 'Hi Jen. Trowa, Jenny works with me; she teaches English.'

'Well, I try to,' Jenny smiled, giving me a not-so-subtle once-over. 'I'd better go; my sister's entered her poodle in the next class and I promised her I'd be there to watch. I'll see you in school tomorrow, Quatre. We must have coffee together and have a nice chat.'

'Something makes me think that I'm going to the subject of this 'nice chat'? Would that be right?' I asked, leading Quatre over to the ice-cream stall.

'Oh, yes! I'm afraid your ears will probably burning at around ten o'clock tomorrow morning!' He ordered two ice-cream cones and we wandered off to find a quiet place to sit and eat them.

'So the people at your school know you're gay then?'

He nodded. 'I've never hidden it. Well, not since I was eighteen or so. Once I'd told my family, I didn't really care about how anyone else reacted. What about you?'

'I've been pretty lucky, actually. My dad wasn't exactly ecstatic when I told him, but he didn't freak out or anything.' _Or disown me. _Damn, I'd been more than lucky. 'Cathy's always been brilliant; I think she used to hope people would make comments so she'd have a chance to beat them up! That reminds me, she keeps going on about meeting you properly. D'you think you could bear to have dinner at her house some day this week? I'm warning you, she'll probably ask you all sorts of madly personal questions.'

'Of course I'd love to meet her again.' He dipped one finger in his ice-cream and let Maggie lick it. She got all the fun. 'And this time I can ask her all sorts of personal questions about what you were like growing up.' His beautiful eyes shone, reflecting the sunlight.

'Then I'll have to get Duo drunk so he'll spill all _your _secrets,' I retaliated.

Quatre gave me a haughty little pout. 'He doesn't drink so that won't work. Anyway, I don't _have _any secrets.'

'Sure you do. I'll can always ask Zechs or Relena. Or Dorothy. Actually, Dorothy might be the best; she's living with you so she probably knows if you drink juice straight out of the carton or don't change your socks for days on end.'

'There's nothing to tell.' Quatre stood up abruptly, tumbling Maggie off his lap. 'Don't you think we should go to look for Zechs and Wufei now? Their class is due to start in twenty minutes.'

'What's wrong?' I stared up at him, and he gave me a bright smile. 'Nothing's wrong. I'm just worried about how they're all going to do. Heero's been working so hard with Shinnie, and it's really important that Nataku does well. Shall we go and find them?'

'Not in this crowd, no.' I decided to let that weird little interlude go. For now anyway. Maybe I'd just gone a bit too far with the teasing? 'We wouldn't have a hope of finding them. I think we should stay here until it's time for the Oriental Breeds in the show ring. If we get there a bit early, we'll have a chance to talk to them first. Assuming they even turn up.'

'What about Wufei's grandmother? I thought she was the one making him enter in the first place. Won't he be too scared not to turn up?'

I grinned at him, taking his hand and pulling him back down beside me, not quite sure how we'd catapulted from a nice, cosy chat into this abrupt subject change. I couldn't work out what I'd said that he hadn't liked. 'Mrs. Chang is on a whole other continent and probably won't be home for months. Whereas Zechs, well, you can use your imagination. If you had to choose between cosying up to a hot new guy or pleasing a far-away relative, which would you pick?'

'Good point,' he conceded, licking carefully around the base of his ice cream cone to catch the melting drips. Oh, God. That should definitely not be legal in public. It was making me want to do all sorts of things that would be considered very much illegal in a public place. 'I hope they do show, though. I'm dying to see them together.'

I nudged him. 'Your wish is about to be granted, honey. Incoming. Twelve o'clock.'

Nataku looked fairly relaxed, ambling along beside her owner, who was looking pretty relaxed as well. He and Zechs weren't holding hands or anything, but Zechs was walking close enough, ostensibly correcting Wufei's grasp on Nataku's lead, that a certain amount of physical contact was inevitable. Wufei didn't seem to have a problem with that. He looked happy; all the usual edginess presumably smoothed out by many hours of presumably very satisfactory sex.

I still couldn't resist teasing him, though. 'Hey, Wufei. I was starting to worry about you; I couldn't get through to you yesterday.'

'I was busy,' he said, bold as brass, but giving Zechs a warm look. Wow. I'd never seen him look at anyone like that, and the tall blond was gazing adoringly back. Quatre practically had little sparkly hearts dancing out of his eyes as he watched the two of them together. 'I need to register Nataku for her class. Zechs, can you hold her here for a minute?'

'Of course.' Zechs went even more googly eyed and there was a certain amount of surreptitious caressing as he took over Nataku. 'I'll miss you; don't be long.' He waved my best friend out of sight, and then turned to us, all the gooey stuff turned off like a light. 'Quatre, what am I going to _do_? He still thinks I'm a brilliant dog trainer, and she's probably going to attack someone. _Me_, in all likelihood.'

'But why can't you, um, do what you did the last time?' Quatre cast me an oddly uncomfortable glance. 'To, ah, relax her. You know.'

'Because they have to be awake! To walk around and stand for the judge and probably turn bloody somersaults. I thought they just had to lie in a cage or something so it wouldn't have mattered if she was sedated but they have to _do _things.'

'You drugged her?' I snapped, glaring at him. 'You fool. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to do something like that? You could have killed her!'

'He was really careful,' Quatre put in anxiously. 'They were just herbal pills; I don't think they could have harmed her. And he had to do something! She'd bitten him, half-killed Relena's cat, and done all sorts of damage.'

'You can't tell Wufei,' Zechs begged. 'Please Trowa. Everything's been going so well and he'd be furious if he found out.'

Damn. It was hard to stay angry when faced with two beseeching blonds. 'Fine. I won't tell him. But you can't do something like that again, OK?'

'OK. But what am I going to do now? He still thinks I'm a professional dog trainer. He called his grandmother in China this morning and told her an expert was handling Nataku in the show so she was bound to win.'

'You could always tell him the truth,' I suggested.

'Don't be ridiculous! Of course I can't. Then he'd know I'd been lying to him.'

'But you have,' Quatre said perkily. 'I think Trowa's right. Wufei obviously really likes you; I'm sure he'll understand. He might even be flattered that you were willing to do anything to get him to notice you. And it's so important that you're honest with each other from the start.'

'She mightn't be that bad, anyway,' I put in, taking pity on the poor guy, who looked as if he was about to start hyperventilating. If he really was that serious about my friend, it would be a shame if anything went wrong so soon in the relationship. 'I've never actually seen her this calm. She's a perfect example of a Peke; if you can keep her from getting too excited, she might do pretty well.'

'I'm sure she will,' Quatre enthused. 'She's so cute, and she matches your hair colour perfectly. She'll probably win first prize, and then the grandmother will adore you, and Wufei will think you're amazing, even more amazing than he already thinks you are, and I'm just so happy for you both! I've known along you'd be perfect for each other.' He beamed happily at us both, and I mentally added twittering bluebirds to the string of dancing hearts.

Zechs' mouth twisted sourly. 'God, Trowa, how do you put up with him when he gets like this? Ah, Wufei.' His expression changed miraculously into a besotted smile. 'Is everything sorted?'

'I think so.' Wufei glowed up at him; my imagination provided a whole cast of friendly forest animals, all about to break into a Disneyesque love song.

Shit, what the hell had I got myself mixed up in?

'Shall we head over to the show ring now, Trowa?' Quatre, my Quatre, touched my arm lightly. 'We want to get a good place to watch.'

'Sure.' I reached for his hand, thrilled when he just closed his fingers around mine. 'Listen, honey, since romance seems to be in the air today, I just want to say how glad I am that we met up. You're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and I am totally crazy about you.'

His hand squeezed gently, and his mouth settled into a demure, in-public little smile, but not before mouthing 'I love you'.

My heart thumped hard to an imaginary beat and I couldn't wipe off the silly smile that kept stretching my face to what was sure to be cosmic proportions. And even though the timing was right for this fantasy moment, I didn't break out in song, aloud. Love was grand and we were all humming along.


	52. Chapter 52

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and I make no financial gain from these stories.

Note: Many thanks to KS for editing - and tracking Taco - and to everyone who has been reviewing.

Quatre's POV:

**Chapter 52:**

As Trowa and I make our way to the show ring together, he has the most adorably goofy grin on his face and he is humming some sort of tune under his breath, something that sounds like it might be the theme from a Disney film.

This is turning out to be one of the best days of my life. It was so sweet what he just said; that I'm the best thing that ever happened to him.

I can't wait to get him home to show him properly just how much I love him. Every so often he glances down at me with a little smile shining in his eyes, and squeezes my fingers, very gently.

This is just the most perfect day.

Even seeing Dorothy making her way through the crowd, Taco in tow, and glaring viciously, doesn't dispel the mood, not for one second.

'Dorothy? I didn't realise you were entering any of the classes.'

She scowls at me. 'I wasn't planning to, but Uncle Dermail said I should; his company is one of the sponsors and he thought it would look good for me to take part. They should be flattered to have such a highly bred dog in their stupid little show. I've a good mind to go and complain to someone. Taco didn't deserve to be eliminated; it wasn't his fault that stupid woman grabbed him; of course, he bit her!'

'What exactly happened?' I ask. 'I mean, did she just come up to Taco and grab him or what?'

Dorothy snorts, flicking back her hair and almost blinding a passer-by. 'It was too ridiculous. Just because she was the judge, she thinks she has a right to _grope _the dogs. So undignified; I'm _glad _Taco bit her!'

'Judges do need to check the dogs' teeth as part of the competition,' Trowa puts in, and gets a megawatt glare for his trouble.

'I'm not putting up with this. I'm going to complain.' She thrusts Taco's lead into my hand. 'Watch him for a minute, will you? I'm going to the committee tent.'

Trowa shook his head. 'Seriously. I don't know how you put up with that girl. She's a nightmare!'

'Oh, she's not that bad,' I bend down to pat Taco and withdraw my hand hurriedly from two tiny snapping jaws.

'Why don't you let me take him?' Trowa asks, reaching for the leash. 'I'd rather he didn't bite off any of your fingers. They come in useful sometimes.'

'Do they really?' I tease, laughing. 'How?'

'Cooking, playing the violin, playing other things.' He drops his voice for the last comment, smiling when I blush. Lost in the moment, neither of us notices when Taco somehow manages to twist his neck in a certain way, and slip his collar.

'Oh no!'

'Come on.' Trowa drops my hand, picking up Maggie. 'We'd better catch him before he gets into more trouble.'

'No, you stay here in case Dorothy comes back. Maybe tell one of the stewards to make an announcement over the intercom? He can't have gone too far.'

Finding a small black dog in the middle of a large crowd is much harder than I'd anticipated. Lots of helpful people have seen him, but by the time I get directions, he always seems to be a few steps ahead.

He does seem to be heading out of the busiest part of the show though, skirting the show-jumping ring, and heading to the corner of the field where the horse-boxes have been parked.

The place is virtually deserted, save for a teenage girl leading a small grey pony.

'Excuse me! I don't suppose you've seen a small black Chihuahua?'

'Oh, is that what it was?' She laughs. 'I thought it was a rat! He went down that way, a couple of minutes ago.' She points toward a line of parked horse-boxes. 'You'd better hurry. There are a couple of horses tethered down there and he might get trampled on if he spooks one of them.'

'Thank you!'

Where is the stupid animal? Since he doesn't seem to be wandering outside, I decide to give the horse-boxes themselves a quick search, just in case he dashed into one to hide. After all, he is a very small dog in a strange, crowded place; it seems logical that he might want to shelter somewhere quiet.

Eureka. A tiny, trembling black bundle is crouched in the corner of the very first one I check.

'Hey, Taco. It's me. Quatre. Are you OK? Poor little thing.' I squat down, holding one hand out to stroke him, and he slowly uncurls and crawls into my lap. 'There you go. Let's get you back to your mummy, how about that?'

'Quatre Winner.' A lazy, horribly familiar voice drawls my name. 'Imagine seeing you here. In my wife's horsebox of all places.'

'Mr. Khushrenada.' I straighten up slowly, Taco tucked under one arm. 'I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I was just looking for my friend's dog; I'll just take him now and we'll…'

'Always in such a rush,' he murmurs. 'You do like playing hard to get, don't you?'

'I have to go back and meet my friends and I'm sure you want to get back to your wife.'

'Oh, not at all. Leia is quite content by the show ring. What a fortunate thing that I came back here to make a 'phone call. You know, Quatre, I'm starting to think you don't like me, for some reason. I was most upset when you didn't bother to acknowledge my invitation for Friday night. I'm not used to being brushed off like that.'

'I'm sorry about that.' I take a deep breath, telling myself there's no need to be anxious about any of this. Of course there isn't. It's broad daylight for Heaven's sake. He's a creep but he can't actually _do _anything. 'But I thought I made it clear that I'm already in a relationship. I love my boyfriend; I have no intention of cheating on him.'

'I'm not remotely interested in your silly little romance. I thought _I _made it clear that I found you attractive.' He slams the door shut, taking a couple of steps forward so he's standing directly in front of me. 'You are lovely, you know.' One finger reaches out to stroke my cheek.

'If I'm supposed to be flattered by that, I'm not!' I snap, jerking away from him.

'Silly boy,' he croons. 'I told you, I do enjoy a challenge on occasion. It's rather enjoyable having to chase my quarry for a change; normally they can't bend over fast enough.'

'Well, you can stop chasing me! I have no intention of being caught.' I transfer Taco to my left arm, just in case, and duck around him, heading for the door.

'I really wouldn't do that if I were you. I left my dog outside on guard and he's attack trained. It would be such a shame if he harmed that lovely face of yours. Or damaged that little rat you're holding.' His mouth contorts into something that's probably meant to be a smile. 'If you don't believe me, just go ahead. He's legally allowed to defend my property from trespassers.'

'What do you want?' My mouth is suddenly very dry.

'Dear Quatre, I thought that was obvious. I want you.'

'_What_?' I gape at him. 'You can't mean…here and now?'

'Very good. You're quite clever when you try. And yes, here and now. As I've said, I was very disappointed when you failed to appear on Friday night. I'd been looking forward to spending some time with you.

'I don't want to have sex with you. And you're the lawyer. I'm sure you realise that sexual assault is illegal in this country.'

'As a lawyer, my lovely, I'm very aware of how hard is to prove those sort of allegations. Of course, you know that as well as I do, don't you? Really, it comes down to which of the two parties is the more credible. And I can't imagine that anyone would believe you. Face facts, Quatre. No in the universe is going to doubt the word of a highly respected, married gentleman over that of a little bitch who's been cast off by his own family. Especially given your…personal history, shall we say? I've had my assistant do a little research on you. Very interesting.'

He sits back on a hay bale, one leg crossed elegantly over the other. 'What it comes down to now is how you want this to proceed. If you're prepared to co-operate, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. If not, well, like I say, a challenge always adds a little spice.'

No. This is _not _going to happen to me. Right. Deep breath, Quatre.

'All I have to do is to call for help.'

One freakishly forked eyebrow lifts. 'Call whom precisely? The show-jumping championship has just started; everyone is there. I doubt very much that anyone would hear, over the noise outside. And even if anybody comes, what are you going to say? I haven't done anything. Actually, I've found you trespassing on my property. If anyone does summon the police, I'm sure they'll be more interested in that fact than any ridiculous allegations you make.'

Shit. Think, Winner. Door locked, scary dog outside. Scarier man inside. Not good.

_Think._

'Please. Don't hurt me,' I plead. 'I'll do whatever you like.'

'I don't want to hurt you, little one.' He advances on me with a sickly sweet smile. 'I can make this so good for both of us.'

Ugh_. _

_Little one_, indeed! Well, he's going to pay for that.

'Put the dog down, Quatre. He's only going to be in the way. Good. Now come here.' He's so sure of himself, standing there with one hand extended towards me, that nasty, nasty smile showing all of his teeth. Taco retreats back into the corner, growling low in his throat. Damn. Why couldn't Dorothy have owned a Great Dane or something?

'Promise you won't hurt me?' I don't let myself look up as I take a couple of steps closer, head hanging submissively. Apparently just what he expects.

'Oh, you little beauty.' Abruptly, my hand is captured by his, drawing me forward. Almost close enough. I flinch at that awful, gloating tone and he laughs. 'I won't hurt you, not if you do exactly as I say. You'll try very hard to please me, won't you?'

'Yes. Yes, anything.' I stammer. Oh, God. There is no, no way I am going to let him touch me. My shoes are almost flush with his long, highly polished boots; out of the corner of my eye, I can see Taco standing uncertainly to one side. He's not used to hearing me sound like this.

'Such a pretty thing,' Treize coos. Right, this is it. I probably only have the one chance. He has all the advantages of weight and height and the only thing I have going for me is that he won't expect me to fight back. When I pretend to stumble a little, he reaches out to steady me, putting himself off balance and loosening his grip on my hand.

_Here we go, Quat. _

I close my fingers around his wrist, and twist it backwards, throwing my whole weight into it. Dorothy's darling, wonderful dog darts forward at precisely the right moment, throwing himself into the attack and throwing Khushrenada further off balance, until he crumples to the floor, writhing in pain and cursing. I'm not sure if the cracking sound I hear is just my imagination.

I've never physically harmed anyone before.

Taco, scooped up into my arms whines softly and I realize I'm squeezing him far too tightly. Oh God. We have to get out of here.

'You little _bastard_!' Khushrendad grates, face twisted in pain. You broke my arm. I'm going to have you arrested for assault. It will be rather interesting to see how long that prissy attitude of yours lasts in prison. I'm sure your pretty little ass is going to be _very _popular, if you get my meaning.'

'You won't be suing him for anything. Not unless you want me to tell people about what happened between us.'

The door abruptly swings open, flooding the trailer with light, and Wufei is standing there. Not Trowa, but almost as welcome.

Watching Treize's expression is …almost amusing.

'You were over eighteen. I did nothing illegal.'

Wufei just shrugs. 'Perhaps not technically. But I'm sure the Sanque Law Society would be interested to hear how one of their members seduced a young university student who was doing work experience. I don't think the senior partners at Romefeller would be too impressed either. I see they've recently had to deal with several accusations of sexual harassment at management level. From what I hear, a number of former clients have left as a result of all that negative publicity; I'm sure they don't need any more negative PR.'

'You didn't take much seduction, as I recall,' Treize's mouth twists nastily. 'You wouldn't have been worth it. And you don't have any proof that it ever even happened. Who's going to believe you?'

'Rather a lot of people. I'm actually quite well-regarded by the other members of our profession. So, if it really does come down to your word over mine, I think it's quite likely that I'd be believed. People have long memories, Khushrenada, and I hear there were a few rumours about you doing the rounds five years ago. That's why you were transferred the office in Moscow, isn't it?'

'That's slander, Chang. You do realise that?'

'Slander is by its very nature false.' Wufei's voice is silky smooth; I can just imagine him in a courtroom, eviscerating the opposition. 'Don't you remember that from law school? If you wish to take me to court over what I've said, I'm more than willing. In fact, I'll look forward to it.'

'Get out. Both of you. Now,' he snaps. 'Before I have you both arrested for trespassing.'

'I somehow doubt you'll be doing that.' I realise that Wufei is enjoying himself, enjoying having the upper hand. 'But we're more than ready to leave. Come on, Quatre. Incidentally, I'd advise you to stay away from him in the future. From both of us. And I seriously hope he's planning to press charges against you. I'll be delighted to act as a witness.'

We're both silent as we walk out into the sunlight, even Taco is lying quietly in my arms. There is loud applause coming from the show ring; Treize was right. Even if I'd shouted, no one would have heard.

I'm not sure where we're going, but Wufei leads me to the refreshments tent, finding a table in an empty corner, and buying us both tea and huge wedges of cake.

'Put some sugar in your tea, Quatre. It's good for shock.'

'I'm not sure if I'm in shock. I feel OK. God, Wufei. Thank you so much! How did you get past that terrible dog? He said it was trained to attack.'

He gives me a faint smile. 'I live with Nataku. Nothing canine can possibly scare me. The animal ran off when I shouted at him. Are you sure you're all right? There's a medical tent if you want to lie down for a bit.'

'I'm fine. Really. Just a little bit rattled.' Taco licks cake crumbs off my fingers; I know he _must_ be in shock when he doesn't even try to nibble me. Not that I'll ever complain about his behaviour in future. I really have to find Dorothy; she'll be worried about her pet. And Trowa.

'I'm not surprised.'

_A little bit rattled is_ starting to be an understatement. 'How ever did you find me?'

He picks up his slice of cake and takes a bite. 'Zechs said he wanted to spend a few minutes with Nataku before their class; I met Trowa looking for Taco and then he said he didn't know where you'd gone either, so I offered to help. I was asking people about a little black dog and a girl with a pony told me she'd already told a blond guy to look around the horse-boxes.'

I nod. 'Thank you. I'm really, really glad you turned up just then.'

He shrugs off the praise, colouring slightly. 'Not at all. You seemed to be handling things perfectly well by yourself. What the hell did you _do _to him? He must be twice your weight.'

'Oh.' I swallow a mouthful of tea, folding my suddenly-shaking fingers around the cup. I was holding Trowa's hand less than ten minutes ago, wrapped up in love. 'The first apartment Duo and I shared wasn't in a great neighbourhood. He showed me some techniques for defending myself. I - I never had to use any of them before now.'

He shakes his head, smiling faintly. 'You're full of surprises, aren't you? I can see why Trowa is so taken with you. Quatre, what I said to Treize, you weren't shocked. I gather Trowa had already told you.'

I can't lie, not after what we've been through. 'Please, don't be angry with him. It wasn't like we were gossiping about you or anything. He was trying to explain that he had some, well, some commitment issues, and he said that one of the causes was that his best friend had been very badly hurt and he didn't want the same thing to happen to him.'

'I never knew that. Gods.' He puts his cup down, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

'May I ask you something? You could have complained to the Law Society years ago, couldn't you? '

He shakes his head, rather regretfully. 'I know I should have. It was wrong that I didn't; he should have had to face the consequences. But my family would have been devastated. They came here to make a new life for themselves, in a new land, so I could have so many opportunities that weren't available at home. They were so very proud when I began to study law; when I began interning at the Romefeller practice. They are very private, conservative people. Back then they didn't even know I was gay and I just couldn't do it. There would have been a very high profile court case, he would have said all kinds of things about me that would have been reported in the media. I know I should have; it's wrong that he keeps getting away with that sort of thing. Quatre, I heard most of what went on between you in there. If you do want to press charges, I'll be more than happy to testify.'

'I have a family too,' I say slowly. 'They - most of them - try to pretend I don't exist, but I'd like to think they will, one day. And that won't happen if I accuse someone they actually know socially of something like this.'

Wufei just nods. 'I do understand. But he'll keep doing this until someone actually stands up to him.'

'Oh, no.' I say very positively. 'He most definitely is not getting away with it. You and I are going to dig up every grain of dirt on that sleaze and we are going to destroy him. What?' I add, realising that he's looking at me oddly.

He shakes his head. 'Trowa said that you could be…determined about things. I'm starting to see what he meant. Quatre, are you quite sure you're all right? I can take you home if you like.'

'I'm fine.' I actually mean it. 'It's probably adrenalin or something, and I'll collapse once I get home and it all sinks in, but right now I'm pretty good.' I take another swallow of too-sweet tea. '.I think he's insane. Or some sort of megalomaniac. He seriously thought he could get away with….with hurting me like that. I know it sounds horrible, but it felt great, standing up to him.'

'I know what you mean. It's perfectly understandable.' Wufei's own hands are shaking slightly as he raises his own cup. Of us both, he actually seems the more upset about what happened. 'I've wondered for years what would happen if I ever met him again, you know. How I'd react.'

'You were brilliant, the way you faced him down!' I lift my cup in a salute. 'Absolutely brilliant. How did it feel?'

'Good. Like you said, pretty good. We should probably get back to the others, before Trowa starts to worry about you.'

'Or Zechs about you,' I have to add. 'You two…everything is all right?'

'Yes.' Right, I still need to put in some work on his sharing skills, but the one word is totally heartfelt.

We both rise, Taco growling softly as I pull him away from the goodies. 'Come on, boy. I promise, I'll buy you a whole cake of your own tomorrow.'

The first person we see as we head back to the pets area is Zechs. Slumped on a bench, he looks absolutely dejected. Nataku in contrast is sitting perkily at his feet, tail waving.

'Wufei, I'm so sorry. I thought it was all going so well, and then she took a dislike to a Lhasa Apso who tried to sniff her and it rather went downhill from there. It was a nightmare! They had to postpone the class while the stewards tried to get everything under control and we were eliminated. I'm so sorry,' he repeats sadly. 'I know how important this was to you, and to your grandmother.'

'It's not important in the least.' Wufei says it very gently, moving to sit beside him and actually sliding an arm around the blond's shoulders. 'It's just a silly show. _I'm _sorry if I put you under pressure. I should never have asked you to take part in any of this. What was important was that you tried to help me; nothing else matters to me.'

Oh. This is very personal, and I really shouldn't be listening. Even if I want to. I force myself to turn away and find myself face to face with Trowa.

'What _happened _to you? Shit, I was just about ready to get the stewards to announce that _you _were missing! Quatre,' he stares at me, his voice gentling. 'What happened, love? Are you all right?'

'I think so. Trowa, please, can I tell you when we're alone? Not in the middle of this crowd.'

'That's it,' he says firmly, taking Taco from me. 'We'll find Dorothy and then I'm taking you home. I don't give a toss about Heero's stupid class.

I nod. Home suddenly sounds wonderful. Trowa turns to tell Zechs and Wufei we're leaving and then a middle-aged lady, dressed in tweed from head to toe and wearing a judge's ribbon, storms up to us.

'Which of you owns the Pekinese from the last class?' she demands.

'I'm her handler,' Zechs steps forward nobly. 'I take full responsibility for what happened, and I will be more than happy to pay any recompense necessary.'

'No.' Wufei lays one hand on his boyfriend's arm. 'It's my fault. She belongs to me.'

The lady's face breaks into a broad smile. 'Well, I've seldom seen a finer specimen and I've been judging Pekes for years. Have you ever thought of showing her internationally? With a little training she could almost certainly win her class at Crufts.' She looks at Zechs. 'I can give you a few tips if you have a few minutes. Have you ever thought of breeding her? I have a wonderful stud dog who's already won three Championship Certificates. They'd have the most perfect puppies. Now, come along, I want to give you my contact details.'

Trowa starts to laugh as they walk away. 'That should keep your grandmother happy, Wufei. OK, Nataku didn't win today, but she's been invited to England to compete in the world's most famous dog show.'

'I'm not taking her,' Wufei states firmly. 'She'd probably provoke some sort of international incident.'

'Whatever.' The laughter in Trowa's eyes dies abruptly as he looks at me. 'Wufei, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm bringing Quatre home.'

'There you guys are!' Duo shouts suddenly, rushing up with Dorothy close behind him. Heero, following more slowly, is reading a programme and muttering. 'We've been looking all over for you!'

The intercom crackles into life, at that precise moment, announcing that Mr. Treize Khushrenada has been obliged to withdraw from the Senior Obedience Class, following an accident.

Wufei and I exchange tiny, private smiles, and I lean over to whisper in his ear. 'And his dog is probably traumatised from you yelling at it!'

When I sit back, Duo is staring at us. 'What gives, Quat? You want to share what all the whispering is about? That announcement wouldn't possibly have anything to do with you, by any chance?'

Wufei just shrugs, leaving it up to me, and I decide just to go for it. After all, everyone is here; I may as well get it over with.

'All right. The real reason he withdrew from the class is because I think I may have broken his arm when he tried to rape me half an hour ago.'

Chaos.

I could possibly have phrased that a little more…subtly.

Heero is on his feet, threatening to kill the fucker, Trowa is wrapped around me, with Dorothy and Duo bracketing me on either side.

'Please,' I manage to choke once I can get some breath into my lungs. 'I swear, I'm OK. Nothing actually happened. He didn't touch me. Heero, please just sit down for a second.

We are going to make him pay, but right now, but you have a class to win and Duo won't like it if you're arrested for murder.'

'What makes you think I'd be stupid enough to get caught?'

'Oh, love.' Trowa pulls me into the warmest, closest embrace ever. 'I swear, we'll make the bastard pay for that. The fucker! Once you've calmed down a little bit, we'll go straight to the police and report him.'

'I can't.'

'Shush. I know it's going to be horrible, but I'll go with you. You've done nothing wrong, Quatre. You've got to report him. You see that, right?'

'I can't, Trowa.' Easing myself out of his arms is one of the hardest things I've ever done. 'I'm sorry. I can't.'

His expression darkens as he stares at me. 'Quatre. You have to. You can't let him get away with treating you like that.'

'He doesn't want to,' Dorothy snaps, and I realise she's clinging to Taco and crying into his fur.

'Back off, Barton.' Duo, my best friend, is suddenly the one who's holding me. 'It's OK, Kitty Quat. No one's going to make you do anything you don't want to. Heero can just arrange a nice little accident for him. Way simpler.'

'No.' I take a deep breath, meeting Trowa's eyes. Heero wants to sort this himself; Duo won't want to get the police involved. I already know Wufei is on my side, and that Dorothy will do anything to help. My boyfriend is the one I have to convince.

'Trowa. Even if I go to the police, I'm not sure how much they can do. He didn't touch me. It'll really come down to my word against his. Wufei heard a little bit but he wasn't actually there. He didn't see anything.'

'_What_?' Trowa explodes, spinning around to look at Wufei. 'You knew this was going on! Why the hell didn't you do something?'

'He _did_! He was amazing, but he didn't actually witness Treize laying a finger on me. By the time, he arrived, I'd…already taken care of things. I'm not going to let him get away with this, love. I promise. But I'm going to do it my way. If you want to help, that will be great.'

Trowa's head shakes slowly, the long forelock of hair falling even farther over his face. 'You know I'll do anything. Just tell me what you want. I'm sorry I pressured you, back then. I'm just so damned mad at the thought of that sleaze going anywhere near you.'

'I know.' Suddenly, I reach up and pull him down for a very quick kiss on the mouth. At least, I'd planned it would be quick. Still, we're in a little huddle of our friends, so it's not really all that public. I hope. 'I love you. And we will sort this out. But tomorrow. Can we just enjoy the rest of today? Please?'

He smiles, that slow, lovely smile that starts with a little quirk of one corner of his mouth and slowly blooms all over his face. 'As if I could ever deny you any damn thing you asked me for.' He leans over and whispers in my ear. 'In bed or out of it. You know that, right? You know I love you. More than anything.'

'I love you too.' I want, very badly, to be alone with him. For his hands and mouth to wipe away the memory of Treize trying to touch me. To reassure him that I wasn't actually hurt, and that I'm not going to fall apart if he holds me.

In the end, Zechs and Wufei are the first to leave, offering apologies and ridiculous excuses for not staying to watch the obedience class. There's not really much doubt about what they're going to spend the rest of the day doing.

After that, Trowa and I end up staying for an hour or so. The five of us find a sunny patch of grass to sprawl on and eat ice-cream and try to stop Taco from slaughtering any other creatures. In the end Shinnie takes matters into his own paws, picking up the tiny black morsel and dropping him between his front paws and keeping him there.

'Hey, all those obedience classes are obviously paying off,' Duo grins. 'Even if he doesn't win a prize, you're still a top dog, Shinnie.' The collie wags his tail happily for Maggie to pounce on.

Surrounded by my friends and my lover, my heartbeat finally returns to something near its normal rate.

I'm still very jittery, starting at sudden loud noises and I think the others notice this, sitting very close.

Heero wins his class and is rewarded by a small plaque and a massive hug from his boyfriend, which is obviously far more appreciated. Dorothy drifts away to see friends during the prize-giving and then it's just the four of us. Six, including the dogs.

'Time to go home.' Trowa decides, getting to his feet and pulling me up. 'Well done, Heero. We'll see you guys during the week, OK?'

They both nod, and I realise just how easily he's managed to assimilate myself into my little group. It's like he's always been one of us.

Duo hugs me tightly, and makes me promise to call in the morning, and then throws his arms around Trowa as well. 'You look after him for me tonight, Barton. Or I'll get Heero to kick your ass. See you, Quat.'

'Are you sure you're all right?' Trowa asks earnestly as he leads me back to his car. I've lost track of how many times I've been asked that question in the last couple of hours.

'Sort of. I think I'll be better when I get home and close the door behind us. But, honestly, I'm not doing too badly. I really want just to go to bed. With you.' His face, watching mine, is just a little uncertain. 'Trowa, don't look like that. What he …tried to do has absolutely nothing to do with us, with what we do together. I love you.'

'_God_, Quat.' Caught up in his sudden, bone-crunching hug, I still notice it's the first time he's ever abbreviated my name. 'If he'd hurt you, Heero wouldn't have had a chance. I'd have got there first with a few nice little metal instruments. Or my bare hands.'

I nod, believing him. 'He wouldn't be worth it, Trowa. And I was able to look after myself.'

'Yeah.' He stares down at me. 'What the hell did you do to him? Wufei just said that when he got there, the bastard was on the ground in agony.'

'Duo's shown me a few tricks. I can show you if you like, later.'

'Quite the tough guy, aren't you? For a gay violin teacher? That's kind of hot.'

I laugh, just like I'm meant to, and then have to force myself to stop, suddenly very glad of Trowa's arms around me. It was so close.

'I'm not feeling terribly hot right now, actually. More very shaken and in need of some comforting. If you don't mind?'

'I don't mind,' he says softly, taking my hand and leading me to the car. 'Whatever you want, love. Now, come on. Let's go home.'


	53. Chapter 53

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me; I get a huge amount of profit out of writing these stories, but none of it is monetary.

Note: All credit for this one goes to Kaeru Shisho, who suggested giving the animals a turn…

Warning: Talking animals. A little bit of angst and a lot of sap.

**Chapter 52:**

**Taco, after the incident with Treize:**

_Hah! I, the most mighty and noble Taco Burrito Quesadilla del Enchillada y Catalonia, have saved Quatre from the nasty macho hombre.. How proud Dorothy will be of me for protecting him! How I sank my teeth into his legs and drank his blood and listened to him scream with pain! I am truly a mighty warrior! El Guerrero!_

**Nataku (in Zechs' car, on the way to the Palace):**

Nataku wasn't used to being ignored. She didn't like it. After several months with Wufei, she'd exactly perfected her attention-gathering techniques but none of them seemed to be working this time.

It was the tall one's fault. In general, she approved of him. He had fur the colour of her own and her human was relaxed around him. She hadn't actually known her human _could_ feel that relaxed actually. Most of the time he was so tense about everything that being around him actually _hurt_, but he laughed when the new one was around and he felt calm and happy and that was good.

It wasn't good if they were going to ignore her, though. Still, maybe, just for once, she could put up with it. It felt pleasant to be with them when they were both obviously so happy together. Her human was laughing at something, and the blond one had a hand on his knee.

_That_ sort of thing was going to have to stop. Wufei's lap, like all the rest of him, belonged to her and nobody else. Not that she would demean herself by sitting on a mere human, but the option should be there, just in case she decided to indulge him.

Some dogs, like that hairy black and white one with the ridiculous name, were far, far too tolerant of their humans. Foolishness. They had to learn their place and that was that.

She had her human almost trained and now she was going to have to start all over again with this new one.

There would, of course, be certain advantages to having _two_ human slaves. Despite her best efforts, Wufei still insisted on going out every day and leaving her alone, even though he knew perfectly well that he'd return home to a new form of destruction. Some humans took a long time to learn the most basic lesson, and her poor Wufei wasn't very intelligent, even by the low standards of his species.

The tall one might be more amenable to training. She liked spending time with him; he knew exactly how to stroke her ears, and he'd given her those magic treats which had brought such exciting dreams, and he had a good voice. Unlike _her_ poor, confused human, Zechs was perfectly aware of his place in the world, and comfortable with it.

It might work out rather well. It was good for humans to have companions of their own kind. They were weak minded creatures who needed to socialise, and Wufei spent far too much time alone with his silly pieces of paper.

At least this one was better than the one called Trowa, who worked as a VET and who did cruel things to animals. Not just to cats and inferior species, but to dogs. He wouldn't have done at all. He stank of blood and fear and pain, that one. He'd even attempted to smack her nose at one point, but Nataku had taken a fine revenge on his shoes.

The car stopped at a pair of tall gates, which slowly swung open. Nataku jumped up to look out of the window and bark at anyone presumptuous enough to approach, and saw that her humans, far from paying attention to her, as they should, were putting their mouths on each other.

Oh, that was quite enough of that sort of thing! There _were_ limits.

'I think she's jealous.' Zechs pulled her ears gently, laughing at the fluffy bundle which had suddenly arrived in his lap. 'We're going to have to share him, sweetheart.'

Share? Absolutely not. That concept might be acceptable for humans, or cats, but she was a descendant of dogs who had trained emperors. There would be no sharing. Still, it was not unpleasant to have them both stroking her at the same time. Two humans, really, would be more far more beneficial than one.

Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Zechs lifted her slightly with the other just enough to see out the window. It was an unpardonable liberty; this touching without invitation, but she'd let it pass just this once. He had such warm, capable hands, and they knew the perfect places to scratch. No wonder her Wufei liked being touched by him so much; Zechs presumably knew where humans liked to be scratched too.

'Do you remember this place?'

Nataku's tail waved enthusiastically. Of course she did! It was a wonderful place! Strange, very tall, four-legged creatures that had been terrified of her, and a real _cat_ to chase and a girl and an old man who had sobbed in terror of Nataku's might. Now, they were humans who know their place! There had even been many, many soft things to chew and shred and destroy.

It was a veritable paradise! So much better than her own human's home, which wasn't nearly grand enough for a Chinese aristocrat whose ancestors had lived at the Imperial Court.

But she could be happy in a palace. She and her human both could.

**Shinigami (in Heero's Car, on the way home from the Show):**

Heero: Do you really think he'll be all right? Should we have gone home with him?

Duo: I think Trowa's got this watch, babe. Unless you fancy taking Quat off to bed, and snuggling up with him? Which I really, really hope you don't.

Shinnie: _Here we go again. Fishing for compliments_. _You're_ _so obvious, Duo_.

Heero: You know you're only person I ever want to snuggle with. I'm just worried about him.

Duo: Me too. Shit! I can't believe what that _fucker_ tried to do to him. There's no way he's getting away with it, right?

Heero: Definitely not. We'll do it Quatre's way to start, and if that doesn't work, we'll find something else.

Shinnie: _Count me in! I never should have let Quatre away from the flock by himself. Too many wolves out there…it's not safe. I should have been with him, not that little rat._

Duo:Yeah. You might have to stand in line behind Trowa though. He looked ready to kill someone with his bare hands when Quat told him.

Heero: Of course he did. If anyone ever tried to hurt you like that, I'd kill them.

Shinnie: _Absolutely. If anyone ever hurt Duo, I'd rip his throat out_. _Grrr_.

Duo:I know this is probably really sick, but it's sort of a turn on when you say stuff like that. Not me being hurt or anything, I can take of myself, but the way you look when you say it. All fierce and predatory. It's very sexy!

Shinnie: _Oh, no. Don't start. Can't we just drive home for once without starting all that_?

Heero: I like turning you on.

Shinnie: _Apparently not. Surprise, surprise. Even when he fell down that hole, he couldn't stop flirting._

Duo: Mmm. You know, you were really hot today when you were in that class. All masterful and commanding and stuff. It sort of made me want to roll over and beg and do anything you wanted me to.

Shinnie: _Huh. Masterful! He wouldn't have got anywhere if I hadn't been humouring him. Half the time, he was too busy looking at you to know what he was doing. Lucky I know that stupid obedience test backwards._

Heero:Anything?

Duo: Oh, yeah!

Shinnie: _Oh no! Not again! Can't they keep their paws off each other for two minutes? _

Heero:*muffled gasp*

Duo: Mmm. I was thinking we could have a bit of fun with that fancy rosette you won. It could be quite the cute little sex accessory.

Shinnie: _No! I won that! It's mine, Duo!_

Heero: What did you have in mind?

Duo: Well, I was thinking…*leans over and whispers in Heero's ear*

Shinnie: _I can still hear you! I have amazing hearing! And I don't want to hear that sort __of thing. You're disgusting! Both of you!_

Heero (blushing slightly): Hn.

Duo: 'Course it's a loooooong way home. Isn't it? And I've never been very good at being patient and having to wait for stuff.

Shinnie: _Eyes on the road, Heero! Not on Duo! Oh, no! We're all going to die! Oh, God. Hands on the wheel! PLease..Duo, how can he concentrate on driving when you're doing that? i'd get into trouble if i tried to lick him there but you get away with everything...._

Heero_: _Oh!

Duo:Is that good for you, baby? Oh, yeah, that feels so amazing!

Shinnie: _Stop that, the pair of you! Heero, you're supposed to be driving....not doing that __sort of thing. Stop it now!_

Duo: Oh wow! Do that again, babe. You know, I bet this is illegal in loads of countries.

Shinnie_: It should be! Stop it. Now! Quatre would never do something like this_! _He has too much decency!_

Duo: Heero, since Shinnie's an obedience champ and all now, do you think you could train him not to bark when we're making out?

Shinnie: _The cheek of him! Maybe you could train Duo not to make so much noise while you're at it? How can a dog ever sleep with all that moaning and groaning? 'Oh, Heero, do that again. Please. Ooh, Heero. You're so strong. Oh, Heero, I love you so much.' Urgh. _

Duo: Shin, if you don't shut the hell up I'lm going out tomorrow to buy a cat.

**Maggie (in Trowa's car, on the way back to No. 4, Red Oak Terrace):**

There was something wrong. There had been ever since Quatre had gone off by himself to find Taco.

Before then, they'd all been so happy, even if it had been a little scary to be in such a crowded place with so many strange people and animals and smells. She'd been with Quatre though, and he'd picked her up and carried her if he'd noticed her looking frightened.

He was the best human in the whole world, and now he was so sad.

Taco had started to tell a story about a bad man who'd tried to hurt Quatre but Shinnie had made him stop and told her not to listen, and now she wished she had.

It had to have been something really awful though, because Quatre's hand on her head was shaking and he was holding her just a bit too tightly. She didn't care, though, not if it made him feel better, so she just let him hold her and didn't whine or wriggle.

A little part of her was actually glad he was clutching her like that, because it meant she was safe from the CAT. It was in a basket on the back seat; a black, unhappy presence and that was scary because Taco said all cats were evil. Maggie didn't want the cat going back to their house, even though Quatre had wanted it.

The cat belonged to Trowa, and her human had said that it wasn't fair to leave him alone all night.

Quatre was the kindest human in the world, but sometimes he was just a little _too_ kind.

It was good that Trowa was coming home with them. He was always good at making her human feel better. Even hearing his voice on the speaking box made Quatre smile. And Trowa surrounded himself with animals all day and made them well when they were sick. Quatre had told her so, and he'd even saved Taco's life when he'd been choking on the bone from the Bad Bag that her human had told her never to touch.

So maybe he could make humans feel better as well? Maybe he could help her Quatre?

She thought that Trowa was part of whatever was wrong, though. He had one hand tightly wrapped around Quatre's and he was trying to make his voice all calm and nice, but she could tell that deep down he was really mad about something and Trowa didn't normally feel like that.

Maggie thought that maybe it would all be better when they got home. It wasn't though. Quatre vanished upstairs, and Trowa carried the cat into the kitchen and went to make tea. That was good. Her human liked tea. It might make him feel better.

She wanted to run upstairs and check that he was all right, but she didn't really trust the cat in her kitchen, and besides it was a guest, even if it wasn't welcome. Her human had all sorts of rules for guests.

It wasn't a very big cat. It didn't _look_ evil; just a bit scary. And Trowa was there; he could protect her if necessary.

'Hello.'

'Are you a dog?'

'I'm a Cairn Terrier,' Maggie said proudly. It was one of the first things her Uncle Duo had ever said to her, that she was a Cairn and they were a very special breed because they were supposed to be very gay and affectionate*. He'd laughed a lot after that. 'My name's Maggie Raberba Winner.'

'Leo. Leo Barton. Are you going to fight me?'

'My human doesn't like fighting. He thinks it's wrong.'

Leo considered that, sitting squarely on the floor in front of her and twitching his whiskers. 'Why is he so sad? He's been to my house and he wasn't sad then.'

'I'm not sure. Something bad happened. I'm sorry but can you please excuse me? I need to go to him. Please help yourself to the biscuits in my bowl if you're hungry.'

There, Maggie thought, as she raced upstairs. Quatre would be proud of her. She'd been polite and offered refreshments, just the way he did when they had visitors.

He was in the shower, which was odd, because normally he only took showers in the morning. He liked to take long baths in the evening, and play music on the little sound box that Taco said was called a radio and flick bubbles at Maggie to catch.

It wasn't right for him to be having a shower now, and it was too steamy and hot and it all felt _wrong_.

She was just turning to fetch Trowa when he turned up at the door.

Oh, good! Maybe he could make it all right again.

Trowa just dumped the tray he was holding on the floor and stepped into the shower, clothes and all, and pulled Quatre into his arms.

'Quatre. Honey, that's enough. OK? You're going to rub yourself raw.'

'OK.' Quatre's voice was shaky, not a bit like the way he normally sounded. 'Oh, God, Trowa, I was so _scared_. I really thought he was going to…to hurt me like that.'

'He didn't, baby. You were amazing. You were so brave and I love you so much.'

'I wasn't brave at all. It was so awful. I was begging him not to hurt me and I pretended to myself that I was only acting so he'd think I was scared but I was terrified really and I keep seeing the way he looked at me.'

He was crying again, and he hardly ever cried. Maggie lay down on the floor, guarding the tray with her human's tea on it, and whined softly. This was horrible. Horrible. She couldn't just run away and leave Quatre, but she didn't know what to do, and at least here she could hear Trowa's voice. There was still that red, sharp edge underneath, like he really, really wanted to hurt somebody but it was soothing and gentle, and her human had stopped crying those awful, wrenching sobs.

They were still clinging together as they got out of the shower, finally, and that was good. Quatre needed someone to hold him and Maggie was too small to do it properly. The world was scary sometimes and it was nice to have someone to hold you and tell you that everything was all right and that they loved you.

She believed in love, and so did Shinnie, who knew everything because he was nearly two, and she _never_ listened to Taco when he said it was stupid. It was wonderful that her human had someone as nice as Trowa, who always had a chewy toy in his pocket and loved playing games.

And Trowa was very, very lucky to have Quatre because Quatre was the best person ever. Even Shinnie, who had two humans of his own, said that _her_ human was special, and he knew because Quatre had helped Uncle Duo to save him from the Bad Place where he'd been before and Quatre was still really his mommy even though he didn't live with him any more.

Quatre slid down to the floor as Trowa let him go to pull off his soaked clothes and Maggie immediately jumped into his lap. She wasn't normally supposed to do that when he wasn't wearing clothes but everything was different tonight.

He didn't seem to mind, cradling her in his arms. He'd stopped shaking, and his voice sounded more like it usually did.

Trowa was smiling when he bent down and put his mouth over Quatre's.

'You two are so cute together. The first time I ever saw you, she was sitting on your lap in the surgery and you were smiling down at her, remember?'

Maggie waved her tail. She remembered. She'd been scared in that new place that smelt so strange. Her whole life had been turned upside down in a few days. She'd been taken away from her mother and sisters, which had been awful, but Uncle Duo and Uncle Heero had been so kind, and she'd met Shinnie for the first time. She'd wanted to stay in their house for always, but Uncle Duo had put a scratchy bow around her neck and said she was going to go to another human who was lonely and needed somebody to love him.

And she had. She loved Quatre with all of her being and now he had Trowa to love him too and he didn't have to be lonely any more, and if anyone else ever tried to hurt him, she'd save him.

Because she loved Trowa too, she jumped down and let him hug her human tightly and say more of those nice words to him, and ran alongside when he picked Quatre up and carried him into their bedroom.

Her human was laughing and protesting that he was perfectly capable of walking but Trowa just put his mouth on his again and licked him – the sort of licking that Maggie wasn't allowed to do.

It was nice having _two_ humans in her bed. Two sets of toes to pounce on, and two laps to snuggle in and Trowa had the most wonderful hair to try to bite. Quatre seemed to enjoy it too, licking Trowa's mouth with his tongue. It wasn't _fair_ that only humans were allowed to do that.

The world wasn't fair, sometimes.

Then she thought of the cat. Downstairs, all by himself, in a strange place, when she had her human _and_ his up here. Quatre would want her to be nice to him, so she ran back down and found him, sitting just where she'd left him under the table.

'Wouldn't you like to come upstairs to our bedroom? You shouldn't stay down here by yourself.'

'I'm all right by myself.'

'Of course you are. But it's much nicer upstairs. We can jump on the bed and play a game if you like. Don't you like jumping on your human's toes? Or we could play chasing? I know lots of games.'

Leo didn't say anything but he stood up and stretched, shaking each leg in turn. 'All right. If you're lonely. How's your human?'

'Better, I think. He's stopped crying. Trowa's helping him, a lot. It's this room. Oh!' Maggie stopped suddenly in the doorway, looking at the two figures on the bed. 'Are they fighting?'

Leo crossed his eyes at her. 'How old are you?'

'Nearly three months. I think.'

'They're playing a human game. Maybe we should go back downstairs.'

Maggie wrinkled her nose. She wasn't very old, but she wasn't a _baby_. 'Are they _mating_? My friend says his two humans do that all the time, but I didn't think Quatre knew how.'

'Well, he does,' Leo said dryly.

'Oh, good! I was starting to worry about him!' She trotted over to the end of the bed, finding her cashmere sweater and curling up on it. 'Wouldn't you like to come over here? You can see everything. Do you think they'll have puppies or kittens?'

'Ruff.'

'Meow.'

'Oh, Trowa, stop! I can hear Maggie barking. They're not fighting, are they?'

'Quatre! Shit, not _now_! I'm just about to...., yes, yes, _fine_, I'll check…..no, it's OK. They're not fighting. Just playing.'

'Ah. That's so sweet. They're curled up together! Look!'

'Yeah. Really sweet. Honey, d'you think we can get back to what we were doing? Please? Now?'

'Oh, I'm so sorry. Yes, of course we….Oh, _Trowa_. Oh, _God_.'

'OK, sweetheart?'

'Very OK. I love you.'

'Love you too.'

Everything did seem to be OK, Maggie decided. Her human felt happy and tired and Trowa was there to take care of him. Leo was nice to snuggle with; he was so soft and warm and maybe Taco had been wrong about how cats liked to rip out dogs' eyes and eat them. Leo had to be a _nice_ cat anyway, if he had a human like Trowa. She wouldn't mind if he wanted to stay and live with them. And maybe Trowa could stay too and then Quatre would always feel happy.

**The End.**

*I actually have an old book of dog breeds at home which describes Cairns in exactly those words.

I have marked this story as complete, so this is probably a good place to add that, time and inspiration allowing, there may be a sequel at some point.

I also want to thank everyone who's contributed to this story. Wolfje started it all, with a long ago conversation centred on what pets the guys would have. Kaeru Shisho convinced me to continue and then ended up having to proof fifty-plus chapters. Hah! She also contributed a lot of the last lines. Snow gave me advice on the veterinary bits and Alonzo inspired all the llama comments, and even made a cameo appearance.

Massive thanks to everyone for reading this story. I really do appreciate all your reviews, and I especially treasure those from people who said that PL cheered them up on a bad day. That's the highest compliment an author can get, I think!


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